


Hedgecrossing: The Underground

by bwandrz



Series: Hedgecrossing [2]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: And also my favorite, Angsty Teen Flowey, But really he's just a grump, Everything you need to know is discussed at some point in this fic, F/F, F/M, Feel free to read whichever ones first, Flowey is forced to come with on my journey, Frisk is missing but no one knows why, Goat Mom Is Best Mom, Hedgecrossing, It's not for fear, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Chara, POV First Person, POV Flowey, POV Frisk, POV Papyrus, POV Sans, Post-Canon, Slow Burn, Something bad happened to them and its haunting me, Starts out with some serious depression, Supernatural - Freeform, Tagging is really hard. Jesus Christ., You don't have to read the first story, canon lore, fairy tail - Freeform, pink Soul
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-20
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2018-12-04 12:39:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 63,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11555391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bwandrz/pseuds/bwandrz
Summary: A fictional depiction of my journey through depression in stand alone stories that are connected.The one year anniversary of Fairy Tail's reset is here, and I couldn't feel any less worthy to exist than I do now. Until a spark of magic energy sends me flying outside to find the source. Instead of my guild mates, I happen upon a hole that plummets me down into the Underground. There I find an almost perfect timeline except Frisk is nowhere around. With Flowey and Sans's help, we search for the missing child with japes and shenanigans along the way. The thought of the timeline getting destroyed haunts me all the while, and I can't help but feel a certain goopy skeleton might have a hand in all this.





	1. Fallen Down

**Author's Note:**

> These don't necessarily have to be read in order if there's a particular fandom you're not interested in. Anything important that happens will be covered in the one you're reading, but fair warning, there will be spoilers! I recommend you check them all out because I've put my heart and soul into these. Having said that, please read my journey!

Frisk ran, pumping more adrenaline through their legs than ever before until their muscles burned, and the screams reaching toward them faded away to nothing more than faint whispers in the distance. They jumped left, dodging a low tree branch as their breath came out in quick puffs of hot, gasped air. 'Just over the hill,' they told themselves silently. 'Then she'll keep me safe!'

Frisk ducked under another branch, careful not to trip over the protruding roots raising from the ground, reaching the edge of the woods at the top of the hill. A small, wooden house sat at the bottom of it, golden flowers growing up the side and around the garden bed. Frisk paused, resting their hand on a tree trunk, taking in the view of the house in the valley as they caught their breath. They didn't want her to know they had to run home again. She'd be furious.

Mt. Ebott rose up, piercing through the orange and yellow sky in the distance. Frisk smiled serenely, the view filling them with determination. They giggled, lying down in the soft grass. They tucked their arms in and let themselves go, rolling down the side of the hill, giggling the whole way down. They landed face up with a hard 'thud,' the sky stretching over them and the sun beaming on them like a warm blanket. Their backpack, filled to the brim with school books, pressed uncomfortably into them as they made an angel in the grass. 

" _They did descend upon their unlucky descendants~_ " Frisk shot up, looking over their shoulder, their short hair swinging, at the sound of her singing. " _And reigned down gifts for the unworthy. Their repentance remained unlikely as their doom kept unfurling~_ "

Frisk sprinted up from the ground kicking dirt and grass behind them as they bolted for the front door. Without knocking, they swung the door open, smiling brightly as she looked up from her painting. A smile spread across her round cheeks.

"Welcome home, Frisk!"  
_______________________________________________________________________

I stared down hard at my phone, my heart sinking. I'd hoped by now it would have been easier to look at their faces, but... it only grew worse over the course of a year. 

A whole year had passed since I left Fairy Tail and Fiore behind. Zeref's words circled in my head as I stared down at the picture Natsu, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Happy and I had taken that day. Erza stood next to me as I held the phone up to take the picture. Gray had put his arm around my shoulders. Lucy leaned in between us only to be knocked to the side by an elated Natsu. Happy flew in next to Natsu's head just as I snapped the picture. 

Zeref warned me, "Once it's done, you can not go back." They fell on deaf ears, however. It didn't matter if Fairy Tail forgot who I was. Even if I didn't get to tell them goodbye. I left them all behind to bring her back. After all, she died to save me. I owed it to her. So, I used the reset power, despite Zeref's warning. So, there I sat, alone in my apartment, staring at my friends who didn't remember me. That reset power of Frisk's? It terrified me. I swore after that I'd never use it again. Somehow, though, I still had my guild emblem on the back of my right shoulder. I chose dark blue for the color.

My magic swelled around in my body, not knowing where to channel itself. I let out a slow, shaky breath as I fought back the tears. I tried to quell the magic building inside me, but my heart beat prevented me from calming the constant swelling. Erza had said that magic came from your emotions, and I was so full of them that night that I probably could've destroyed the whole apartment complex by accident. I had learned my magic at Fairy Tail, after all. They were notorious for destroying whole cities on jobs. By accident, of course. 

"Ugh, I really don't feel like going out to the middle of the woods right now... It's so laaaaaate!" I whined quietly. In Fiore, magic was a normal, everyday phenomenon. People used it as often as we used cell phones on Earth. Magic on Earth, though? For some reason, magic energy sparked in overdrive here. If I let my magic loose in my living room, there was no telling what would happen. Whenever I needed to expel magic energy I had to sneak out into the woods. A hard thing to do when you live in the middle of a city. The woods around my apartment weren't big enough, so I had to sneak to the park at night. 

Reluctantly, I rose from the couch, heading towards my bedroom to put boots on. The Christmas tree gave the dark room a soft, white glow. My roommate and best friend, Cheyenne, slept in the other room with her black pug, Oogie, and her cat, Chi Burger. Heading towards my bedroom, I passed by a watercolor painting I'd done of Sans the skeleton from Undertale. He stood, his left eye glowing with Gaster Blasters behind him, ready to hand out a bad time. My favorite thing about the painting, however, was his outstretched hand. It made me feel like he was reaching out to touch you as you passed by. I pressed my fingertips against his, smiling at him as I passed by like I always did. 

I entered my messy room, my paint supplies strewn across the floor with my sketch pads leaned up against the dresser and my Halloween decoration Cheyenne and I made of Omega Flowey _still_ leaning against my chest of drawers. He was made to go around the door, the gross mouth fitting almost perfectly around the frame. I hated having him out, staring at me at night while I slept. We'd used glow in the dark spray paint on his screen face so he'd glow and look creepy to our neighbors. It worked, and he ended up winning the door decoration contest for us, knocking fifty bucks off our rent that month. I didn't exactly have anywhere to put the big bastard, as much as I hated having him stare at me. 

I'd gotten a little obsessed with Undertale. Okay, a lot obsessed. An unhealthy obsession was more accurate. Undertale really helped me get through the past year, dealing with the depression I felt not only from losing my Fairy Tail friends, but from my bad relationship turning into an eventual brutal break up. That, and my best friend was about to move away with her husband, Cody, who she'd just married about two months ago in September. He moved down to San Antonio for a job, and they agreed she'd move down there with him when she finished school. It felt like the wedding and the end of the lease would never get here, but suddenly we had less than a month. I was happy for her, and I wanted her to move down south with her husband, but it didn't mean I wasn't going to miss her.

I slipped on my boots and went back into the living room touching Sans's hand again as I passed by when my inner core shook at a pulse of magic power. I shot my gaze towards the window, my heart beating uncontrollably. I couldn't help but smile, trying to not get my hopes up. I hadn't felt magic power like that, besides my own, since I left Fiore. Before I had the chance to stop myself, I bolted out the door, slamming it behind me. I just knew I'd probably woke Cheyenne, and that proved true when I heard Oogie barking through the windows. I didn't stop, just in case I missed the source of the magic power. I'd explain everything to her when I got back. I ran down the stairs, tripping as I reached the bottom. I quickly hopped back up and sprinted down the sidewalk, screaming out names of Fairy Tail members desperately.

"Natsu?! Lucy!? Are you there?" I panted, running with everything I had as I followed the magic energy. I passed by a neighbor on their porch, smoking a cigarette. I kept going, ignoring the confusion on their face as I continued, "Erza!? Gray!? Happy, even!? Seriously, is ANYONE there!?"

I stopped, darting my head left and right. A coyote howled, and my attention shot towards the woods behind me. My body reacted before I had time to think, and I darted to the wooden fence lining the parking lot. I jumped up, grabbing the top and climbed over, ungracefully falling to the ground. 

"Oww." I said plainly, then stood back up. I shook myself off, then started dashing through the trees. The magic power swirled all around me no matter which way I went, so I couldn't follow it directly. It felt like going through a thick smoke, but I couldn't find the fire producing it. "Something has to be out here..." I said, trying to stay determined. Magic power didn't just pop up on Earth for no reason. 

I missed a step, tripping on a tree branch. I looked down, and reached out to catch myself, but no ground stood beneath me. I tried grabbing for something to hold onto, but only blackness surrounded me. I screamed as I plummeted down into darkness. I suddenly hit the ground, face first. It came instantly, like it just snapped into reality. I sat up, grabbing onto my face as it throbbed, and cried out, "Holy FUCK!" 

I peeked between my fingers as I squeezed my nose. Hot blood trailed down my lips. Columns reached up around me, leading up to a hole. Sunlight shone down from the top. I raised a brow as I gazed up at it. 

"Wait... It was night, and now it's day..." I laid my hand down on the ground when I realized I'd accidentally quoted Sam Winchester, and felt slightly dumb. I felt soft petals brush against my fingertips. I looked down to find that I had landed in a bed of golden flowers. I stared at them intently as I stood up, brushing myself off. A drop of my blood fell and landed on one of the petals, staining it. I quickly wiped my nose with the back of my hand as I turned my attention to a lone pathway directly in front of me. It led to a door with a decorated frame. The Delta Rune? It was too far away to tell for sure. I hesitated before I started slowly moving forward. 

"There's... no way..." I whispered as I moved to the pathway. I inhaled slowly, anticipating what I'd find on the other side of that door. If I found him there, then I'd know for sure where I had fallen down. I'd found myself in a fictional world before, but...

I reached the doorway, and took in a deep breath, then held it. I peered around the corner, and sure enough, there he was. Flowey the fucking Flower. He had his head hung low, staring at the ground with a defeated expression. His petals looked wilted, which matched the somber look on his face. I stared at him in awe until he suddenly moved, looking towards my direction. I gasped as I quickly moved out of sight, backing as close to the wall as I could. I let out a shaky breath mouthing, "I'm... in the Underground!?"

"I know you're there! You can come out now!" Flowey called out from the other room. His voice sounded just like the small snippet heard in the game. Like a twisted child that learned how to use voice filters. I let out an aggravated sigh. "Well, shit." I said as I peeled myself off the wall. I came around the corner, unsure of how to handle the situation I'd literally fallen into. Flowey stared up at me innocently, starting off with his usual intro. "Howdy! I'm--" 

"Is this real!?" I asked, interrupting him. I glared down at him, crossing my arms. My heart beat kept picking up, making me light headed. The premonition Carla had back then... She'd mentioned skeletons and a golden flower... My stomach churned as he looked perturbed at my question. 

"Yeah! Of course it is!" His smile was back instantly. "You're new to the Underground, aren'tcha?" He'd completely recomposed himself, looking back at me with confidence. "Golly! You must be so confused!"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. You're Flowey. Flowey the flower." I said dryly. Flowey's eyes widened with surprise as he stared up at me. For being such an evil little bastard, which I knew he couldn't help, he sure was adorable. I stepped closer to him, kneeling down. "But really, you're Prince Asriel, right?"

His gaze slowly changed, and his classic, evil expression crept across his face. He laughed, and my skin crawled. Hearing it in person differed completely than hearing it from a speaker.

"You... You're _different_ , aren't you?" He asked.

"What do you mean by _different_?" I tried to imitate him.

"You're like _me_ , aren't you?"

"Aware of timelines you mean? Yeah. Soulless? No."

"You're LOVE count..." He said, eyeing me. "You've KILLED, haven't you?" I grunted, squeezing my legs as I glared down at him. "Not because I wanted to!" I yelled defensively. "It was an accident..."

"Why so frazzled? After all... in this world it's KILL or BE KILLED!" He said, his face contorting as he laughed maniacally again. I cringed back from him, then leaned forward and slapped him across the face. A life bar appeared above his head, and the number four appeared. Apparently my slap didn't do much damage. He looked at me menacingly. 

"Chill the fuck out, dude. I know your whole spiel, and how fighting works. Oh, and don't even think about using your "friendliness pellets" on me. I can reset faster than you can kill me." I said, trying to keep the upper hand. I could use the reset ability, true enough, but Flowey didn't have to know that I had to requip to do it. I decided to keep that my little secret. 

"Why are you here?" Flowey asked, the agitation obvious on his face. I looked around briefly, realizing it myself as I replied, "...I don't know..."

"What do you mean 'you don't know?' You climbed the mountain for _some_ reason, right?" Flowey asked. I shook my head.

"I didn't climb the mountain at all. I was in my own world when I felt magic energy outside. I thought it might have been one of my guild mates, but..." I paused. "I doubt they had anything to do with _this_." I hugged myself, thinking about Fairy Tail again. I had no idea how I got myself into the Underground, but it couldn't of had anything to do with Fairy Tail. As far as I knew, Earthland, the universe Fairy Tail resided in, and Earth, my world, were the only two universes out there. Well, until about five minutes before _this_. I continued, "Suddenly this hole appeared underneath my feet as I ran around looking for the source of the magic power. Then I fell into the Underground, and here I am."

"Your friends, huh? Why wouldn't it be one of them?" Flowey asked. I didn't respond, but instead hugged myself tighter as I let out a frustrated sigh. Flowey smirked, pressing on, "Did you reset your timeline and abandon them? They don't remember you, do they?"

"I didn't abandon them! Not really... It was the only way I could fix what I had done--"

"Did you kill them all?"

"No! She... she died because of me just being there, and existing in their world. They're fine without me. I'm not supposed to be in their timeline..." I paused, looking around me again. "Or _this_ one for that matter..." I looked back down at Flowey. "Say, are you the only one down here?"

"By that, do you mean did Frisk reset their timeline and send them all back to the Underground?"

"Well, did they!?" I threw my arms out to my sides.

Sudden movement in the doorway caught my eye. I looked up to see Toriel standing there, gazing at me surprised. I gazed back at her as Flowey turned to see what had caught my attention. 

"Oh, a young woman!" Toriel said in delight as she stepped forward. Flowey looked at me, whispering, "Does _that_ answer your question?" 

I stood up, ignoring Flowey as she said, "Hello! I am Toriel, caretaker of the ruins. It's been a long time since a human has fallen down. You're not hurt, are you, young lady?" Her voice sounded pleasant, and comforting like a mother's should. 

I shook my head. "No, ma'am, I'm okay..." I didn't know how to act towards her at first. It was obvious that she had completely forgotten about Frisk. They must have reset after setting everyone free. I couldn't help but wonder where they were if that was the case. For the time being, I decided to play along like I knew nothing. I had to get intel before doing anything too crazy. I did _not_ want a repeat of what happened in Fiore.

Toriel held her hand out me and smiled, beaming. "Please, come with me. I shall guide you through the ruins."

I nodded, "Sure thing! But I have one request...Is it okay if I bring my flower friend here with me?"

"WHAT!?" Flowey growled.

"Of course! That is absolutely fine!" Toriel said as she turned. Flowey, however, continued to object to the idea. 

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" He said. I sighed, looking at Toriel and asked, "I'm sorry, could I talk to him alone for just a moment?" 

Toriel smiled and nodded without a word, then stepped back through the doorway. I then squatted down to Flowey's level. "Listen, I fell down here for a reason, and I need someone with me who's aware like I am."

"That's not _my_ problem! Besides, I don't want to be anywhere near her!" 

"You reset, didn't you? She doesn't remember who you really are."

"I know that! I just can't stand being around her or that stupid king!" 

"C'mon, Flowey! We won't be around her for long. I just have to get through the ruins so..." I hesitated, "So that I can get to Snowdin Forest." 

Flowey eyed me suspiciously. "Why Snowdin Forest?"

"Because I need to find Sans."

"NO WAY! FORGET IT!" Flowey screamed. "There's no way I'm going anywhere _near_ Smiley Trash Bag!" In the corner of my eye I could see Toriel peeking around the door at us. I smiled at her, reassuring that we were fine. 

"He's just a little cranky right now! We'll be just another minute!" She returned my smile and said, "No worries. Take your time." She disappeared back behind the corner. I looked back down to Flowey, "Look, I know you've had your fair share of resets because of him, but listen to me. He's the only other one who's at least somewhat aware of the timeline shifts. Sans has access to things we don't, and we need his help."

"No, _you_ need his help! Besides, the second he sees us together, he'll kill us!" 

"Maybe, but if he does, we'll just go back to our save point! There are plenty along the way in the Ruins."

"Yeah, but it still hurts..." He mumbled, looking down at the ground.

"C'mon, Flowey, I know you've got to be bored..." I paused as he looked back up at me. He looked _less_ reluctant. I knew that would spark his interest. A lack of a soul makes you less sentimental, but throw in entertainment and they're intrigued. "If anything it'll be entertaining. Just humor me, okay?"

Flowey's face twisted again into an evil smirk. "Alright... If you insist..." I crossed my arms and I stood back up and said, "And don't even think about hurting anyone while you're with me... If you so much as scratch anyone with a thorn, I won't hesitate to take you out myself."

Flowey laughed like it was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. "Oh, yeah? What can you--" He stopped as I requipped into my Megalovania armor. I hadn't used it since my battle with Zeref a year ago. Flowey gazed up at me in shock as I lit up my left eye, and summoned three Gaster Blasters behind me. 

"The strongest female wizard in Fairy Tail trained me. We don't even have to meet Sans for his Gaster Blasters to fry your little ass... I don't have to bring you with me. You're an asset, not a necessity. Got it?"

Flowey glared hard at me, then scoffed. "Whatever..." I laughed, then reverted back into my regular clothes. The Gaster Blasters vanished with the armor. 

"Glad we got _that_ sorted out.”

"What kind of magic is that? I've never seen anything like it!" 

"It's called 'requip' magic. It gives me the ability to change into different armors." 

"Pff, you call _that_ armor?"

"It's not necessarily 'armor,' no, but I have a bunch of different requips that give me different abilities."

"What the heck could Trashbag's smelly clothes possibly do for you?"

"Oh, I can use his abilities in it. Like teleporting, but I suck at teleporting. I can use Gaster Blasters and bone attacks, obviously." I shrugged. 

He scoffed. "So you use copy cat magic?" 

"It's not copy cat magic!" I snapped. "It's just... For some reason I can't create my own requips. Everytime I try to design my own armor, it just... won't come out? I don't know why." I sighed, defeated. "But when I think of characters from shows or games, they just come naturally to me." 

"Sounds like a cop out excuse to me."

"Okay, ya' know what, I don't need your fucking two cents. It's my magic, and it works for me. Now let's get going." I paused. "So... how do you want to do this?" 

"Do _what_?"

"How am I gonna carry you?"

"I don't need you to carry me!" Flowey hissed.

"So, what? You're just gonna pop in and out of the ground like a Whack-a-Mole game?"

Flowey squinted his eyes at me. "Like a _what_?"

"Never mind..." I sighed. I gasped when an idea popped into my head. I leaned down, extending my right arm to him. "Here! Just wrap yourself around my arm! It'll be like in Underfell!" 

"Like in _what?_ "

"Forget it! Can you do it or not!?"

"...I don't know."

"Give it a try!"

"Don't boss me around!" 

"Don't be so difficult!" 

"Fine! Lean in closer!" 

"Now who's being bossy?" I grumbled as I leaned closer. He slowly pulled his roots out of the ground, slithering them up my arms like green snakes. They almost blended in perfectly with my green cardigan. He slumped as he got settled, however, pouting as he stared at the ground defeated.

"There. Happy?" He asked.

"Aye! Let's get going."

"Whatever..." He grumbled as I walked to the door, satisfied from gaining Flowey as a potential ally. I turned the corner to find Toriel patiently waiting for us. She smiled upon seeing Flowey wrapped around my arm. 

"Ah, how cute! I see you've decided to come along... What was it?"

"Flowey." He replied dryly.

"It's very nice to make your acquaintance, Flowey. Now, it's this way to the Ruins. Follow me." She turned, leading the way into the next room. Toriel quickly began chatting as we followed her. "I must say, you're the oldest human I've ever seen fall down here. How old are you?"

"I'm twenty-four." I said, smiling.

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed you to be a day over eighteen!"

I laughed, "I get that a lot."

"Funny. I wouldn't have guessed a day over twelve." Flowey said. I cut him a look, but other than that, didn't bother replying.

"So, what were you doing on the mountain?" Toriel asked. I decided trying to explain what had _actually_ happened would be too complicated, so I made up a quick lie. 

"I was exploring the mountain, and didn't see the hole. Next thing I knew my clumsy butt fell in."

"My goodness. I must say. You're awfully calm about your situation. Are you not concerned about falling down here?"

I grinned as I shrugged. "I guess I don't understand the _gravity_ of my situation." Toriel stopped to laugh as Flowey went limp on my arm. He groaned, "Forget it, just kill me NOWWWWW--"

Toriel turned to me, "What an odd time for you to _drop_ jokes!" Now we were both laughing as Flowey continued to groan. I leaned closer to him and said, "C'mon, Flowey! Quit _trippin'_!" 

Flowey growled, "That's it! I'm gonna reset!" 

I pointed at him, "Ha! I know for a fact you can't anymore!" 

Toriel held onto her gut, holding out her hand. "Please, stop! We'll never get there if I can't stop laughing!" I recovered myself, and without thinking, replied, "Sorry, goat mom!" 

Toriel's laughter died instantly. Flowey scowled at me and whispered, "You IDIOT!" We stayed in silence briefly before Toriel asked, "What's that? Did you just call me... mom?"

"Ugh..." I began. "Actually, I said 'goat mom,' but yeah! I guess I did..." I stared at her as she smiled tenderly. "Would that make you happy? To call me 'mother'?"

I couldn't help but smile back. "Yeah, of course." 

"Oh, my! I think it will be rather fun having you here with me." We entered the room with the first stepping stone puzzle. She spoke as she stepped on the necessary stones. "I even have a room prepared for you, although, it's fit more for a child. We can rearrange it to your liking, however." 

She solved the puzzle, and the door opened. I stared at her sadly as she turned to me, beaming brightly. Flowey began to snicker as I tried to hide the anxiety crawling on my back. 

"We won't be around her long, huh? That's what you said about two minutes ago." Flowey snickered softly. I ignored him as I followed her through the doorway. I faked a smile. "I can't wait to see it."

Toriel led us through the rooms, very similarly like she did with Frisk. When the Froggit tried to attack me she scared it away before I had a chance to do anything. She even held my hand as we traversed through the spike puzzle. She even asked me to walk all the way down to the end of the long hallway, filling the air with unnecessary tension. All the while, she kept talking about the things we'd do together while we lived in the ruins. I had felt awful for leading her to believe her fantasy would play out. 

After she came out from behind the pillar, she gave me that ancient cell phone like she gave Frisk in the game, and hurried away. I thought about using it to call her, but instead decided to press on. I didn't want to flirt with her like Frisk. I didn't really know how to flirt, and even if I did, Toriel would not be the person I'd choose to flirt with. Flowey whined, "Well, we lost her. Can we get out of here now?" 

"The only way into Snowdin Forest is through the doors at the end of the ruins in Toriel's basement. We have to go to her house to get to it."

"Sucks to be you. I can just pop on the other side! Looks like your trash bag magic is useless!" 

"Oh, I probably could teleport there with Sans's requip... His magic is so weird though. I don't really understand how the shortcuts work, so I try not to use that one. Then there's my Hydrabell armor, but that magic only works if I've been there before... But regardless, I'm getting that fucking pie."

Flowey shot me a look. "Huh?" He said in disbelief. "You're joking, right?" 

"Hey, it heals a lot of HP! Besides, I can't just leave without saying anything. I have to at least tell her _why_ I'm leaving."

" _Why_?" Flowey asked in disgust.

"The poor woman's been through enough! It's the least I can do before I leave." I said as we entered the room with the bowl of Monster Candy. "Speaking of healing..." I continued as I moved to the bowl. I took out a piece of candy as Flowey said, "Oh, God... You're a pacifist, aren't you?"

I took another piece of candy, feeling disgusting. "I wouldn't say that exactly... I've fought plenty of times."

"Oh, I can tell. What I mean is you actually care about people, so that means..." He paused as I took another piece of candy, feeling like the scum of the Earth. "You're not actually going to fight anyone here, are you?"

I smiled. "Not unless I _have_ to."

"Even if you meet a relentless killer?"

"The only relentless killer down here is you, you psychopathic weed!" I reached for another piece of candy, but instead knocked the bowl on the floor. The two of us stared at it silently. Flowey laughed as I turned to leave the room. "Look at what you've done!" He sighed in amusement. "Oh, this _will_ be interesting. You're annoying, but I'm glad I came along for the ride." 

Flowey and I continued on through the ruins. We bumped into a few monsters along the way. The first time it happened I nearly had a heart attack when everything around me started flashing suddenly, including a pink heart floating in front of my chest. I looked down at it surprised as the Froggit’s bug attack swarmed towards me. A few hit me, and a lifebar appeared in front of me. Each hit took away one HP. 

"What the heck!?" I exclaimed, looking down at the heart. "What _is_ this!?"

"Uh, it's your _soul_ , obviously. I thought you told me you already knew how to fight!?" Flowey looked at me suspiciously.

"Yeah, but..." I paused. "It's just like in the game... Everything's even black and white in combat..." I looked down at my soul again. "But wait... Why the heck is my soul _pink_ of all colors!?"

"How should _I_ know!?"

"Seriously, there was no pink before..." 

"You want to start fighting back now!?" Flowey cut off my wandering mind.

"Never!" I turned my attention back to the Froggit. 

"You freakin' IDIOT! You're gonna get us killed!"

I ended up complimenting the Froggit, and it hopped away, satisfied. We ran into a few more monsters after that. Mostly Froggits and Whimsums. But I did run into a Vegatoid that gave me a run for my money. I had to take all the monster candy I got from the bowl. 

Toriel called a few times to say things like she did in the game. Like I shouldn't fill up my inventory with stuff I didn't need, and if I prefered cinnamon or butterscotch. The further on we pressed, the more I began to worry about where Frisk was. Flowey hadn't said anything about them. However, before I could ask, we happened upon Napstablook. He lied down in the red leaves, like in game, saying 'z' out loud repeatedly, pretending to be asleep. Flowey and I stood there, watching him, until Napstablook said quietly, "are they gone yet?..."

"Let's just kill 'em." Flowey said.

"No!" I paused. "Besides, you can't kill a ghost. They're sort of incorporeal."

"Well, they're in our way!" Flowey snapped. I rolled my eyes and leaned down, looking at Napstablook and asked, "Excuse me, but can we pass through here?" 

Napstablook floated up from the leaves, looking shyly away from us. He spoke, his voice foggy and shaky. "oh, sorry... i didn't mean to get in your way..." 

"Then _move_!" Flowey said. I swatted my hand at Flowey, trying to shut him up. He leaned back from me, scowling. The word 'MISS' appeared beside him, then faded away. "Hey, be nice!" I scolded him like a child. I turned back to Napstablook. "It's okay! We're not mad at you."

Napstablook, despite my assurance, began crying. Our surroundings flashed again, and the tears turned into wiggly bullets. I tried to dodge them, but unfortunately, I was out of practice. 

"Hey, you're Napstablook, right?" I said to the ghost. He looked up at me as I continued, "Listen, I just wanted to tell you that you're awesome!" 

Napstablook stared at me in confusion, but then smiled slightly. It quickly faded, however, and he replied, "really not feelin' up to it right now. sorry."

"That's okay! Everyone loves that about you!" I said. Napstablook smiled again as Flowey groaned.

"Ugh, this is so stupid..."

"Shut up, dude! I'm making progress here!" 

"can i show you something?" Napstablook asked.

"Heck yeah!" I said excitedly. 

Napstablook began crying again, but the tears fell up, morphing a top hat on his head. I watched excitedly until it completed. Napstablook said, "i call it 'dapper blook'... do you like it?"

"I LOVE it!" I said, giving him a thumbs up. 

"What good is a trick like _that_?" Flowey asked condescendingly. 

"I will ask Mettaton to tap dance on your face if you don't shut the hell up!" I whispered through gritted teeth. When I met Frisk, I'd tell them how lucky they were that Flowey didn't hang onto them through their journey through the Underground.

Napstablook, however, didn't seem to notice as the hat evaporated. He smiled, "oh, gee... i usually come to ruins because there's nobody around, but today i met somebody nice... i'll get out of your way..." 

Napstablook then vanished, and the color came back. My soul vanished as well. Flowey sighed, exasperated. "Well, that was a complete waste of time."

"Jesus Christ, you're so freakin' winey. Where's the big, tough, omega flower that consumes human souls?"

"You told me that I couldn't kill anyone, remember?"

We stepped forward into the room with the Spider Bake sale. I went over to the web, leaning down to inspect it when Flowey suddenly asked, "So, I'm curious..." 

"What these donuts are made of? Same here..." I asked. "I don't have money to buy any anyways... Hopefully Muffet doesn't try to kill me later..."

"No, not that!" Flowey snapped. I looked down at him as he continued, "I was wondering... How exactly do you know about the people who live down here anyway?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I mean that I've never seen you before, but you know exactly who I am. Not only me, but you know _her_ , that ghost, and even Smiley Trash Bag." He said suspiciously. I sighed, thinking before I answered his question. In Fiore, I tried to hide the fact that Fairy Tail was an anime in my world, and it backfired on me. So, I decided to be honest with Flowey. 

"Okay, in my timeline, or my world, whatever you want to call it... You guys exist there, but only in fiction." I began. 

"You mean like in a book?" Flowey asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah, but you aren't from a book. It's a videogame called _Undertale_."

"A _what_?"

"Look, I don't have time to explain, or rather, I don't _feel_ like explaining." I sighed.

"Aww, come on!" Flowey whined.

"Okay, it's like a movie, but you have a character that you control, and you do... stuff with them...?" I said it like a question. Explaining the concept of a video game to someone who had never heard of them proved difficult.

"What kind of stuff?" Flowey asked, suddenly intrigued.

"It depends on the game, but you can do whatever you want to do, I guess."

"Interesting..." Flowey's face creeped into a wicked sneer. "So, who do you play as in our game?"

"Frisk..." I said cautiously.

"And what do you _do_ with Frisk?" He asked, leaning closer to me.

"Well..." I began, cringing away from him. "You either become a peaceful pacifist and free everyone from the Underground without killing anyone..." I paused, glaring down at Flowey. "Or you become and genocidal maniac and kill everything in sight." 

"So, what you're saying is... It's up to the player how things turn out? You can take either path?"

"Yeah, that's how it works." I sighed. 

Flowey laughed. "You humans are just as brutal as you were back then!" 

I stopped walking. "Hey, we're not _all_ like that."

"Oh, then which path did _you_ choose?"

"Well, I did both paths. I'm pretty sure everyone did." I admitted reluctantly. Flowey looked at me questioningly. I continued, "You can reset the timeline at any point in the game, and most people do a pacifist run, then reset and do a genocide run." 

Flowey gawked at me, then laughed. "So, what, now you're going through and being nice to everyone so you can redeem yourself or something?" He paused to laugh again. "That is so stupid. You can't undo what you did, ya' know!" 

"Oh, shut up!" I snapped, swatting at him. He dodged, and the word "MISS" appeared above his head again. "That's not why I'm being nice." I looked away from him. "I played both runs because I wanted to see what happened. That's what you do in a video game with multiple endings. To find out the story, you play all the options. And... I didn't know your world really existed when I played. It's not like I killed you for fun or anything." 

"Wait, you _killed_ me?" Flowey sounded offended.

"I guess technically, although the character kind of does it themselves at the end of the genocide run." Flowey leaned away from me slightly, and I couldn't help but giggle. "I'm not going to hurt you, don't worry."

"Pfft, I'm not scared of you." He snapped.

"Anyways, I'm glad I played both routes. I know a lot about everybody now, like you and Sans!" My two favorite characters, but of course, I'd never admit it to Flowey. And let's not forget the Great Papyrus, my original favorite character. "Honestly, Undertale has gotten me through a really tough year. I've been pretty obsessed with it for a while now, and I know just about everything there is to know about the game. Not to mention all the research I did on my own to find out stuff I didn't see originally. Like about Dr. Gaster and other theories." 

"Who?"

I ignored Flowey as I continued babbling. "Besides, I swore after the first time that I'd never do a genocide run again. I nearly drove myself crazy trying to beat Sans, and then I cried after I finally killed him. And I may have done a genocide run in game, but I'd never do that in real life." I smiled as I began walking forward again, letting out a laugh. "Ha! Real life. I can't believe I'm actually in the Underground. I'm literally in the universe of my favorite game! I'm not only playing the game, but I'm living it! It's like a new level of VR! Like SAO! Like--" 

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Flowey began, "But you're not Frisk, so it's not right. This timeline is... weird." 

I had to agree with him. "Yeah... Where is Frisk anyways?"

"How should I know?" Flowey rolled his eyes. 

"Whatever. I'm sure we'll run into them eventually. It's just weird how the timeline's right where Frisk is supposed to start their journey, but they're not here." I said as we finally reached Toriel's garden. Flowey nodded his head to the other corridor I didn't go down. "There's an item over there if you want it." 

"You mean the toy knife?" I asked, laughing. 

"Yeeeeeeeeah..." Flowey said, squinting his eyes at me.

"Nah, I'll pass."

"Fine then! Don't take my advice, and get killed for all I care." If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Flowey was pouting.

"I didn't mean it like that. I just don't need it." I smiled. "I have my own arsenal."

Toriel suddenly stepped into view from behind the tree in the middle of the garden, red leaves lying at the base of it. She looked up from her phone, in the middle of dialing a number, when she saw us. She gasped, hanging the phone up and rushed over to us. She placed her paws over her mouth and asked, "My goodness! Are you hurt?"

I looked down at myself, realizing how dirty I looked. I had forgotten about my encounter with Napstablook. "Oh, don't worry about me, I'm fine. Trust me, I've encountered way worse." I smiled up at her as she reached up, tenderly patting me on the head. I felt instant relief at her motherly touch, and let out a relaxed sigh as she healed me. The magic seeped in through her fingertips and moved down my skull, filling the rest of my body. "You must be exhausted," Toriel began. "Come this way. I'll show you to your room."

"Okay!" I said, excited. Sleep sounded amazing. It was nearly two in the morning back in my world before I had fallen down, and I could've really used a power nap. 

I followed Toriel inside her house. Flowey leaned close to me and whispered, "So, where's the part where we ditch her?" 

"After I rest a bit--"

"After you _rest_?! What the--"

"Look, I was just on the verge of going to bed when I feel in the hole, okay? The only reason I got off my ass was to expel some magic power really quick, and then come home and go to bed. I'm pretty exhausted, and could use a nap." 

"You've got to be kidding me. This is ridiculous." Flowey grumbled as Toriel stopped. I stopped next to her, recognizing the door from in the game. The same room she had given Frisk.

She placed a paw on my shoulder. "This will be your room. It isn't much, but you're welcome to use it as long as you live here." 

"Thanks, goat mom." I smiled at her again. A burning smell wafted by us, and Toriel's face changed instantly. "Is... is something burning?" She asked. "Uh, I'll be right back! Make yourself at home!" She scurried away quickly down the hallway. I watched her until she disappeared around the corner into the kitchen, then stepped forward and entered the small bedroom. I looked around as I stepped to the center of the room. It looked exactly like in game. Everything did, except it wasn't pixel art. More details stood out, which intrigued me. I went over to the dresser, picking up the empty picture frame. It was wooden and decorated with painted golden flowers and a swirly border to match. I felt Flowey shift on my arm and looked down at him. He looked uncomfortable. 

"So..." I began. He jolted his head towards me, snapping out of his daze. I continued, "It looks almost exactly like your room at the castle."

"Yeah..." He grunted. "It's creepy." 

"Are you... okay?" I asked, concerned. He returned it with a disgusted look.

"Why do you care?"

"Because I can tell you're bothered by something." I said as I sat on the bed. "Look, I know you don't have a soul, so I'm not expecting you to pour your feelings out to me or anything. I understand that you really can't. I just wanted to let you know that you can tell me when something's bothering you."

Flowey scoffed as he looked away from me. "Fine then, I'll tell you what's _bothering_ me. I don't want to be here!" 

"We'll get out of here soon, don't worry." I paused, then raised a brow at Flowey. "Hey, are you okay without being in the ground? You are a flower after all."

"I'm alright for now. I may be a flower, but I'm also made of magic. Just don't hang around here for too long. I'm ready to get this over with."

"You sure? I'm sure Toriel's got a vase around here--"

"No, don't go bringing her back in here! Just take your stupid nap so we can leave!"

I shrugged. "Alright, fine." I stretched, then fell back on the bed as I cried out, "Nap time!" 

"Ah, geez! Be careful with me!" 

"Sorry, I'm not used to carrying around a hood ornament." 

"Ugh..." Flowey sighed, then I felt his vines loosen on my arm. He laid his head down on the pillow next to me, glaring up at the ceiling. I decided to leave him be for the time being, then found myself wondering if flowers even slept. I turned my direction back towards the ceiling, exhaustion setting in. I felt uneasy, and found it hard to enjoy the fact that I had fallen into the Underground. I didn't understand... Undertale had really helped me through the depression I'd felt the last year, like I already said. Fairy Tail had done that for me too, but... When I arrived in Fiore, I had a completely different feeling. I didn't have a care in the world, and I was surrounded by all these amazing people, and they were all so nice, and loving, and welcomed me into the guild without a second thought. Being in the Underground... I felt joy, and some confusion, but my anxiety wouldn't let excitement and wonderfully take over. Would I mess up their timeline, just like Fairy Tail's? 

Then came the question of where Frisk was. I found it really odd how they were nowhere to be found. The possibility that Flowey had lied to me crossed my mind. I mean, Flowey had always been one of my favorite characters, but that didn't mean I could trust him. I decided that once I ran into Sans I would know for sure. 

I looked over at Flowey. His eyes were closed, although I couldn't tell if he had fallen asleep or not. I started to wonder if I'd end up getting attached to everyone here. Would I get one of them killed, too? Then I'd just reset to bring them all back, and have them all forget about me like before... 

I realized I was still staring at Flowey. He wouldn't forget me, right? I couldn't help but smile. At least there was one person for sure. Then there was Sans, if I ever ended up meeting him. It was always unclear to me whether he could remember the timelines, or if he was just so observant that he could tell how many times he'd killed someone just by the expression on their face. The later seemed farfetched, so I hoped he simply remembered the timelines. Then there was Frisk, if I could even find them... 

I sighed, looking back up at the ceiling. I closed my eyes, laying my free arm across them. I didn't know if I could go through a situation like that again, but... This time I didn't have a way to get back home. Zeref wasn't there to give me a hand like last time. It looked like I had no choice but to go further into their world. I just hoped it ended better than last time. 

"Erza..." I whispered. "I'm still so, so sorry..." I fought back tears as the smell of butterscotch cinnamon pie filled the room, lulling me to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so glad I finally convinced myself to post this here. I've been working on this one for over a year now, and I'm glad I can finally share it with people! This fic is basically finished, so I'm planning on uploading chapters weekly. 
> 
> As I said previously in the chapter, I haven't been doing so great. I'm not posting this here for a pity party or anything. I'm just proud of the work I've done, and I kinda thought maybe you guys would enjoy reading it. I love discussing things, so if you have any questions, or comments PLEASE don't hesitate to comment down below! I promise I'll get back to you as soon as I can.


	2. SANS!! OH MY GOD!! IS THAT... A HUMAN!?!?!??!?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The chapter in which we break mom's heart, meet the skelebros, and learn that the timeline isn't as perfect as we thought.

I suddenly woke with a start, sitting up in bed. For a moment, I had forgotten where I was as Flowey let out a panicked whine. I stared down at him on my arm. 

"Oh, hey, you're finally awake..." He said as he stared down at my phone. My ACTUAL phone from the real world, not the one Toriel had given me. I raised a brow as I saw he held it with small vines like hands. He had the only game on my phone opened, a dating simulator called The Niflheim. 

"Hey! When did you take my phone!?"

"While you were sawing logs. And you got a text message some girl named..." He hesitated as he side-eyed me, "Chey-Nanner..."

I gasped, "Oh my GOD! Give me that!" 

"Hang on! Let me finish this chapter!" 

I started reaching over for my phone, and Flowey used his vines to stretch it away from me. He started teasing me as we struggled, "Why does she have a blue heart next to her name? Does she turn your soul blue during battle?" 

"No! She's my best friend and blue is her favorite color!" 

"Pfft, lame!" 

"It's not lame, and I don't have to explain myself to you! Hand. It. OVER!" I screamed as I stretched far enough that I lost my balance and fell off the bed. The force of the fall caused Flowey to drop the phone, and I snatched it before he could grab it back. I sat up as I looked at the screen. I took note that he had picked Nick's story, the ghost character. I looked at Flowey as I went into my text messages.

"So, you'd smooch a ghost, huh?"

"He had a cool hood, but whatever. The game sucks. I didn't know it was a _dating_ game."

"It's a good game if you get further into it, but you should have picked J.J. as your first character. He's my favorite."

"It's pretty sad you have a dating game on your phone. You're single, aren't you?"

"Yes, but it's by choice, you asshole!"

"Uh-huh, I'll bet."

I realized that there were no new texts in my inbox. I glared down at Flowey. "Uh, there's nothing new here. You went through my texts, didn't you!?" Flowey's face twisted into his classic evil expression.

"You shouldn't trust me. I wanted to know more about you, so I decided to snoop through your stuff!" 

"You nosy, little bastard. I would have told you if you had just asked me! I don't have anything to hide."

"Where's the fun in that?" He asked, his face changing back to normal. "And, uh, who the heck is the person named 'Asshole' in your contacts?" 

"It's none of your freakin' business, that's who." I scoffed. 

I looked over and noticed a slice of butterscotch cinnamon pie on the floor. Flowey nodded his head towards it. "Oh, yeah. _She_ came in here and left that for you."

"Oh..." I replied. Trying to keep it nonchalant didn't work. The hesitation in my voice was very apparent. Flowey tilted his head, looking at me amused. 

"Having second thoughts about leaving her? Just like all the other humans did?"

"No..." I sighed, then stood up. I put my phone in my back pocket. "I _have_ to go. My being here isn't good. We've got to find Sans. I'm hoping he'll have some idea about why I'm here, or what's going on, or fuck, _something_."

"Well, let's get this over with." Flowey sighed.

"Alright." I went over to the slice of pie and picked it up. It went into my inventory, almost like my requips. I blinked at my hand for a moment before I remembered I was in a world based off of a video game. I looked down at Flowey and said, "Hey, if you're nice, I'll download a game that you'll like and you can play it, kay?"

Flowey, however, didn't like the offer. He glared up at me, his brow furrowed. "Don't treat me like a child!" 

"Damn, you're ungrateful." I snapped back at him.

"Ugh..." Flowey groaned. "Fine, just so I have something to do if I get bored."

"Honestly, I'm hoping you _will_ get bored."

"Why?"

"Because then that means that nothing bad will happen." I stepped through and into the hallway. I then crossed the threshold into the living room where I found Toriel sitting in her reading chair. She held a book in her hand and wore reading glasses. I stopped in the doorway, and smiling at her I said, "Hey, mom..."

She looked up from her book and returned the smile. "Ah, did you get enough rest?"

"Yes, ma'am, I sure did. It was really refreshing. And thank you for the pie!"

"Oh, it's no trouble at all." She said. I looked down at Flowey when I realized he had been staring at the vase of flowers on the dining table. I tried to hold back a satisfied giggle, then the realization set it. It was time to say goodbye. 

"Listen, Toriel..."

"Oh, you can still call me mother if you like! I really don't mind."

"Right, I meant mom... I'm sorry, but... I have to leave the Ruins." I said reluctantly. Toriel's face sunk instantly. I continued, "I'm sorry for deceiving you. I should have told you from the start that I wasn't planning on staying, but--"

"But!!" Toriel said, clutching her book tightly. " _This_ is your home now! I can give you food, and a warm bed... I know it is not much, but--"

I cut her off, holding my hands up. "I know, I know, _believe_ me, but... there's something I have to do outside of the Ruins. It's for a good cause, I promise you--" I stopped when Toriel stood up from her chair, slamming her book shut. "No... You can't go." She said.

"I know it's dangerous for me to go out there. They're after the seventh human soul, right?" Toriel walked past me without looking at me. "Tori-- I mean mom... I'm not the human who's supposed to set you all free, but I'm gonna find them! I think that's why I'm here... I mean... They're supposed to call you "mom," not me!" 

She stopped at the top of the staircase, placing her paw on the railing. She looked at me, her eyes tearing up. Then, she simply said, "There's something I must do. Excuse me." 

She picked up the front of her dress and then quickly descended down the stairs. I quickly followed her down as Flowey began to snicker. 

"What?" I grunted as I hurried down the corridor after her.

"It's just funny... This is ending up a lot like Frisk's journey. I wonder... what are you gonna do at the end of this corridor? Will you kill her?"

"I said to shut up earlier, and I meant it, Flowey."

"You said to be _nice_. I'm just making observations here."

"Those _observations_ are gonna lose you a good round of Angry Birds. SHUT. IT. UP."

Toriel didn't stop walking, but cried out to me over her shoulder. "This is for your own good. Please, go back upstairs."

"I can't... I'm sorry!" 

"If you don't, they... ASGORE... will kill you."

"Listen, I can take care of myself! I know magic, and I have weapons. I'll be okay!" 

We finally reached the door at the end of the corridor. The only thing blocking my way to Sans now was Toriel. She turned to me, her arms at her sides firmly. Then, she gave me those heartbreaking words. "Then prove to me... Prove to me that you're strong enough to survive!" 

She brought her fire magic up around her paws. I stood there, dumbfounded as everything around us flashed black and white, and my pink soul appeared in front of me. I suddenly remembered Natsu challenging me to fight him, and that I never got the chance to. My heart ached until Flowey snickered, bringing me back underground. I squatted to the ground and held my arm down to it. Flowey slithered off my arm like a snake and planted himself without a word.

Toriel launched a fire attack. I managed to dodge it, but barely got grazed right before the attack ended. Flowey growled in frustration as I recovered. "Geez, you suck!"

"I'm a little rusty..." I admitted.

"It's your turn! Attack!" Flowey screamed. Toriel stared right through me. I smiled at her gently. I tried to think of something to say, but... nothing came. Instead, I decided to use some mercy.

"I won't fight you, Toriel..." I said, standing my ground. If I had to play the game to get out, then I'd do a pacifist run. Toriel stayed silent, then shot another fire attack at me. I completely dodged the attack that time, then held my hand against my chest. "Believe me, I'm trying to get out of here as fast as I can! My being here will disrupt everything... just like it did before..." I looked into her red eyes again, and this time, her expression softened. "So, I refuse to fight you..."

"What are you proving this way?" She said, then shot another attack. I got ready to dodge, but then realized... Her fire seemed to deliberately miss. I blinked, surprised at how quickly she began to back down from the fight. At that moment I knew that the timeline had somehow been altered. 

"I'm proving..." I began, trying to search for clues, "that Frisk is the one who's supposed to be here! Not me!" 

Toriel stopped dead in her tracks. "...Fr... Frisk?" 

"Yes!" I exclaimed. "Don't you remember them!?"

"You're wasting your time." Flowey said. "No one remembers after a reset."

Toriel stared down at the ground. "Why does that name..." She began, "It sounds so familiar to me..." The fire faded from her hands. I stepped closer to her.

"Yes! That's it, Toriel! They're in your heart somewhere!" 

"What the... What the hell are you doing?" Flowey sounded dumbfounded.

Toriel looked at me, asking again, "Why does that name... sound so familiar?" I stepped closer to her again, trying to keep her memory working on Frisk.

"Because they were the one you were supposed to make butterscotch cinnamon pie for! They're the one who called you mom, and then flirted with you right after! They're the seventh human child who freed you all and brought you to the surface!" 

I stopped as Toriel fell to her knees, covering her face as tears began streaming from her eyes. Flowey looked between the two of us in disbelief as I stepped directly in front of her. I crouched down, placing a hand on her arm. 

"I know you feel it, even if you don't remember them... But there's a small, human child out there who loves you, and they want to free you all again..."

"I don't remember them, but..." Toriel took her hands away from her face. "I know I love them dearly..."

"Yes, that's right!" 

"Where... Where are they?"

I hesitated before I answered. "I don't know. That's why I have to leave the Ruins. I have to go find Frisk."

"Everytime you say their name I feel a twinge of pain in my heart." 

I gave her a half smile. "I know. Let us go, Toriel. I promise, we'll fix this. We'll find Frisk, and we'll set all the monsters free again. Just like it's supposed to be."

"Alright..." Toriel began. "But I must ask you... Once you leave here, please, I beg you... do not come back." She paused. "I hope you understand."

I nod. "I understand, and again, I'm sorry... I know you're lonely here, and I can only imagine the pain you feel here everyday, but you're not alone anymore. The next time I see you, I'll have Frisk with me. I promise."

Toriel then grabbed me around the shoulders and embraced me. I hugged her back tightly. She let me go, standing up without a word. I stood up as she passed me. She gave Flowey a patient smile as he stared back at her, his mouth slightly agape. She hurried down the corridor and out of sight. I went back to Flowey, squatting down and offering my arm to him. He looked up at me and asked, "What did you just _do_?"

"I figured out that Frisk hasn't rolled back through here yet, that's for sure."

"No, I mean with Toriel! She... she was going to--"

"She didn't _want_ to hurt me. But when people are hurting like that, sometimes they don't know what to do with it. So, I focused her confusion on what it _should_ have been focused on." 

"On Frisk you mean?"

"Yeah... Everything she said... It was almost word for word what she said to Frisk when they passed through here. Like she knew what she was supposed to do, but she didn't realize it was to the wrong person." I paused. "But I'm just making guesses here."

Flowey stared up at me suspiciously, then climbed onto my arm. "Clever. Very clever..." He said.

"It's funny." I looked down at him. "You keep doing it too." 

Flowey scoffed, crossing his vines like arms. "Whatever. Can I play that game now?"

I gave a small laugh. I got my phone out and handed it to him. He took it with his vines and started pecking around at it. I took a deep breath as I looked at the doors leading out of the ruins. I went through them, pushing them open as fast as I could. They lead to the room where Frisk was supposed to encounter Flowey for the second time. I looked down at the flower twisted around my arm and asked, "What, I don't get a speech?"

"Nah, I'm way too invested in this game. I can't be bothered." He retorted.

"At least you're being quiet, but... are you sure you want to be off guard when we run into Sans? He's usually a pretty chill guy from what I know, but who knows what'll happen when we meet him."

He hesitated for a moment, then handed my phone back to me. "Maybe you're right. This game is dumb anyway."

"You played it for like five seconds."

"Whatever..."

We reached the doors leading out of the Ruins for good. I placed my hand on the door, the cold, bitter air of Snowdin Forest sticking to it. I slowly pushed it open, and a gust of freezing air surrounded us. I audibly gasped, wrapping my cardigan tightly around me. 

"God, it's freezing!" I cried out.

"You're telling me! I'm not made for this weather!" Flowey said, shivering on my arm. 

The doors to the Ruins slammed behind us, echoing across the forest. I jolted around, jumping from the sound. I then turned my gaze to the bush next to me. After staring at it for a moment I could see a small, flashing red light inside. Knowing it was one of Alphys's cameras, I smiled and waved at it. I hoped that she saw it so she could possibly have an idea of what was going on when I finally met her. 

"What are you doing?!" Flowey snapped. "Start moving! I'm wilting here!"

"Flowey, you need to _chill_ out." I snickered.

"Ugggggghhhhh..." Flowey groaned as I began walking forward. I walked slowly, however, knowing Sans would show up soon. At least, he should if the timeline hadn't changed more than just Frisk disappearing. I looked around for him as I moved, shivering from the cold and fear. I reached a large branch on the ground. I paused, gazing down at it, but decided not to pick it up. I stepped over it and walked forward still. After a few steps, I heard a loud crack that erupted behind me. I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around, my heart beating in my chest. Flowey made a small, worrisome noise. I turned back forward and kept going. Then, I heard footsteps behind me. I stopped again, spinning around to see if anyone was behind me. However, again, there was nothing. I let out a slow, shaky breath, then turned forward again. I could see the gate Papyrus built ahead of me. I hurried towards it, and just as I reached the bridge to cross between the bars of the gate I stopped. I heard snow crunching behind me. I let out another breath as the crunching got closer and closer, each step echoing more menacingly than the last. Flowey turned around before I did, and let out another panicked gasp. Then, the crunching stopped right behind me. After a pause, a low, deep, almost monotone voice wrapped around me. 

"human... don't you know how to greet a new pal?... turn around, and shake my hand..."

I turned on my heel quickly. Although he was heavily shadowed, I recognized the shape of his silhouette. However, instead of extending his left hand out for me to shake it, his left eye began to glow blue and yellow, flashing rapidly. A large Gaster Blaster appeared behind him. It opened it's mouth, a blast resonating inside as I held my arms up, bracing for impact. Flowey rapidly flapped his leaves as he cried out, "Hey, don't just shield yourself!"

"REQUIP!" I cried out, then changing into my Headless Rider armor. It consisted of a black body suit, yellow helmet, and the ability to control shadows at will, all based on Celty Sturluson from Durarara!! I made a shield with the shadows, the blast hitting instantaneously, that infamous sound roaring out from it, much more terrifying than hearing it from your laptop. I held my ground, keeping the shield up until I knew Flowey and I were safe. I waved my hand, making a small enough hole in the shadows to peek at him. The Gaster Blaster was gone, and his eye wasn't glowing anymore, but instead his white eye lights. They stared at me blankly, glowing inside the vast darkness inside his skull. 

I reverted, and all the shadows around me disappeared with my armor. Sans continued to stare at me, and my heart gave a tremble of fear. I had trained hard with Erza, relentlessly day after day trying to increase my requip speed, learning to dodge attacks and deflect them. I was skilled thanks to her, but nowhere near her level yet, and I knew that if Sans really wanted to kill me he'd be able to.

I glanced up and down the skeleton, my eyes searching for any sort of movement he may make so I could dodge him. I realized he was barely shorter than me, which was something seeing as how I was only five foot two. He had both hands in his jacket pockets. I quickly realized that Sans wasn't moving, and lowered my defensive pose. I let out the gasp of air I hadn't realized I'd been holding in. "Don't go shooting at people before you ask questions." I huffed, crossing my arms. 

"you... you can use magic?" 

For some reason, I hadn't expected that to be his first words to me. I hesitated. "Yeah, I'm a wizard. Can you not feel my magic energy?"

He blinked, and his smile faltered every so slightly. "yeah, i guess i can..."

"I can feel yours, too." I smiled. "And not just from your blaster."

"what's the flower doing with you?" Sans asked, his eye lights moving down to Flowey. 

He didn't trust me at all, that fact was very clear. Having Flowey with me didn't help my case, but at least he was giving me the chance to talk. "I made him come with me because I need his help. I'm here to find Frisk and fix whatever's going on with your timeline, and uh... I was kind of hoping you'd lend me a hand as well. We're the only three besides Frisk who are aware of the timeline--"

"how do you know who we are?" Sans looked at me with one brow bone raised, but the smile never left his face. I sighed, pulling my cardigan close to me again as another wind chill passed by. 

"I do know who you all are, but that's not really important right now. I'll explain all that later. Just know that I'm caught up to speed on everything you went through with Frisk, okay?"

"alright... we'll be sure to come back to that..." I felt like the trust levels were growing less and less. No surprise there, honestly. It's not everyday someone jumps into your timeline, claiming they're "caught up to speed" with your life. Probably not my best approach on that topic. He continued, "so. has the flower been helpful?"

"No, not really."

"You're the one who made me come along!" Flowey snapped.

"huh. sounds like he might be the _root_ of the problem."

It took a second for it to sink in that he made a pun. He had been so very careful and tactical with his word choice until that point that I'd almost forgotten it was kind of his thing. I gave a small snicker. "Yeah, and his chlorophyll personality doesn't help."

Sans chuckled slightly, and his shoulders relaxed. "alright. you're a decent enough human to appreciate a bad pun. i'll hear you out. i'm sans. sans the skeleton."

"I'm Brandi. It's nice to--"

"Oh, that's your name?" Flowey asked, interrupting me.

"Wait, you just now realized?" I asked in disbelief.

"That's the first time you mentioned it!" 

"I figured you would have found it when you went snooping through my phone, you asshole."

"hate to interrupt, but, uh... you wanna tell me what's going on?" 

"Right, sorry..." I said, laughing awkwardly. Where the hell would I even begin? "To be honest, I'm not sure myself, but I'm hoping talking to you will clarify some things. I fell down into the Underground from my world, and ran into this asshole." I pointed my thumb towards Flowey, who growled at me.

"you fell from mt. ebott?"

"No... I mean I literally fell from my world. I felt a bunch of magic energy, so I ran outside of my apartment building, and this hole appeared in the ground. I fell in before I realized it appeared, and ended up here."

"huh... so, you teleported?"

"I don't know... I didn't think I had that ability. Not unless I'm in my Hydrabell requip, or _your_ requip."

"my requip? what're you talking about?"

"Oh, that's my magic! I have the ability to change into different armors that give me special abilities, and weapons that go with the armor. As you saw earlier. That was my Headless Rider armor. I can control shadows and use it as a shield, or a weapon. You're one of my requips. I call it my Megalovania armor."

"so, you know magic, huh? that's pretty rare for a human from what i've read."

Mages were of course the reason the monsters were trapped in the Underground, but I couldn't help but wonder if there were any still around. The game had never made it clear how long ago the war between humans and monsters took place. Just that the humans were victorious. Maybe if I could get the monsters to the surface again I could find out for myself? Or, I could go back home so history didn't repeat itself. 

"Magic is even more rare where I'm from. Other than the magicians on T.V. there's no real magic. But, here, let me show you!" I quickly requipped into my Megalovania armor. I smiled just like Sans as I put my hands in my jacket pockets. He stared back at me, looked away, then smiled at me mischievously.

"heh. i guess you could say..."

"Oh, God, no..." Flowey whined.

"we're in a..."

"Oh, he's going for it!" I said.

" _twin_ -ter wonderland." Sans finished his pun with a wink. I burst into laughter as Flowey groaned. I looked down at Flowey and gave him a wink myself. "Sorry, Flowey! Didn't mean to doppel- _gang_ -er up on you."

"That's it!" Flowey screamed. "I can't handle TWO of you!" 

I reverted back to my clothes and held my hands up to calm Flowey down. "Alright, alright, I'm sorry! Don't do anything crazy!"

After a quick chuckle Sans asked, "so, you're here to find the kid, huh?" He paused as he looked away. His smiled faded slightly as his brow furrowed. "good luck with that."

"What do you mean? They haven't gone through here?" Sans continued to stare at the ground, his smile completely fading. He had stopped forcing it. Flowey let out a sigh, turning away himself. I looked between the two of them, realizing I'd missed a big piece of the puzzle. "When was the last time you saw them?"

"it's been... over a year, maybe? i'm not sure anymore..." Sans said, finally looking back up at me, his smile returning. I returned his gaze, but didn't reciprocate his smile. "It's been... over a year?" I repeated what he said back to me. He shrugged.

"i stopped counting the days a while back." 

"It's been exactly one year today." Flowey said. "I never stopped counting." 

"But... that's not possible. Everyone I've run into has been doing he same thing they always do at the beginning of the reset! You, Flowey, Toriel, Blooky... Papyrus should even be heading this way by now!" Sans's eye sockets widened at the mention of his brother's name. I continued, "They didn't start back at the beginning of the reset like normal? What... what happened exactly, Sans?"

Sans hesitated. "the last time i saw the kid was when they killed me. they... reset the timeline after we all went free on the surface for the umpteenth time, and when they came back through they spared no one... we fought in the last corridor, but... i lost. then, i woke up and everything was back to normal... i waited for them to come back through those doors, but they never did..." 

"That still doesn't explain why everyone's doing the exact same thing they were a year ago." I said, crossing my arms.

"that's because the day keeps resetting."

"The day... is resetting? All on it's own?"

"i don't know if it's the timeline's error, or if another anomaly is responsible for it themselves. i spent a while looking for an answer, but the day would always reset before i could figure it out. i went to dr. alphys for help a few times, but she forgets everything when the day resets. she doesn't remember anything i told her the day before. after a while..." Sans shrugged. "i just gave up. so, i do the same shift everyday. get the same lecture from papyrus everyday. hell, i haven't even been practicing knock knock jokes in the past few months..." 

My heart sank at that. I couldn't help but picture Sans and Toriel telling each other knock knock jokes through the door, and then seeing her on the other side of the door alone. Sans looked up from the ground at me again.

"it never ends. everyday is... exactly. the. same... but…” He glanced up at me. “today is the first day that something different has happened." 

"Yeah, so thanks for almost killing me, you ass."

"whoops." He shrugged unapologetically. "call me crazy or brash, but the last time a human fell down here my life turned... well, surprisingly worse than it was before." I had to cut him some slack there. Although he never openly admitted to having depression in the game, there were enough clues to point that he suffered from it. "but, as far as you being here, i'm bettin' you fell into that hole because we need you to fix the timeline." 

"I..." I sighed, rolling my eyes. "I'd like to think that, but the last time I fell into another world my presence just made things worse..." 

"listen, toots--"

"Okay, you did NOT just call me 'toots.'" I crossed my arms.

"oh, uh, my bad?..." Sans looked away shyly, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. "look, what i mean is... you may be the only chance at getting us out of this mess. would you mind sticking around to find out?" Sans extended his left hand out to me, staring at me with those dead eyes. 

I couldn't leave before fixing the timeline. Not with Sans asking for my help. Not with him looking at me like that. Not when I knew that he and Flowey were suffering. Not when a child was missing. I'd stay and fix the timeline. It wasn't like I knew how to get back on my own anyway. What did I have to lose? 

"Okay. You can count on me." I grabbed his hand, and a fart noise immediately erupted. I had completely forgotten about the damn whoopie cushion. It startled me, but I laughed. Flowey scoffed, rolling his eyes. I knew working with Sans would be... interesting.

"the old whoopie cushion in the hand trick. it's always funny." 

"I don't know how I didn't see that coming." I laughed.

"Ugh. You're both IDIOTS." Flowey said, his face cringing. 

"you've sure got a lot of _seeded_ anger, petals." 

Flowey growled as I raised my brow, peering down at him. "Wait a second, Flowey."

"I'm attached to _you_ , genius. I stop when you stop."

"Shut up! Why didn't you tell me about Frisk being missing?"

"I told you that I didn't know where they were! I wasn't lying!" 

"Yeah, but you sure as hell didn't mention that they were missing for a whole year! Or that the day had been resetting the whole time! Those are kind of important details!" 

"I wanted to see if you'd figure it out on your own!" 

I pointed at Flowey, sticking my finger right in his face. He began laughing as he backed away. "Hide anything from me again. I dare you. Sans's armor isn't the only thing I can requip into. Don't test me."

Flowey rolled his eyes again. "I'm just trying to keep myself entertained here!" 

"Do you know anything else that we don't?!" I demanded.

"No! I swear!" 

"Cause if I find out you're keeping _anything_ from us--"

"Okay, I get it! I'm bored out of my mind here." He sighed. "I sat in that stupid room by myself for days on end. _She_ was the only person I saw for a long time..." He looked down at the ground, his mouth slightly agape. "I want to fix the timeline, too." He admitted without looking me in the eye.

Guilt crept into me for being harsh, knowing it must have been hard on Flowey as well. Not just Sans. 

"Can I play that game now?" He asked, ruining the moment.

I handed him my phone, giving him a look. "If it'll shut you up." Sans chuckled as he passed us. "just go through here." He indicated the barred bridge. "my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

"Where _is_ Papyrus?" I asked as we passed through the gate. 

"don't worry, he's comin'."

Sure enough, I could see his red scarf in the distance as he moved towards us. Funny how Papyrus seemed to show up on cue. I wondered if it had to do with the fact that we were in a video game universe. I mean, scenes in video games can't happen if your protagonist doesn't arrive to trigger them, right? 

I looked over to find Sans's sentry station and the conveniently shaped lamp, however, the lamp only went up to just above my hip. I guessed I should call it the inconveniently shaped lamp? "Uh... do you want me to hide from him?"

"nah, he's harmless. actually... i know we're short on time, but it couldn't hurt..."

"What?"

"it'd make his day if he saw you... would you mind, i dunno, saying 'hi'?"

I gasped, jumping and clapping my hands together. Flowey shook on my arm as I said, "I get to meet Papyrus?! Really?!" I honestly figured I'd have to try and avoid as many people here as I could, being a human and all. Not to mention that we had zero time for japes and shenanigans. Sans smiled at me and gave a small shrug. "yeah, if you don't mind."

"Okay!" There was no hiding the giddy smile on my face.

"Ugh, seriously!?" Flowey snapped.

I looked over my shoulder. Papyrus closed in as I turned back to Sans. "I'm gonna hide, then come out and surprise him!"

"ok." 

I darted behind the sentry station just in time. Papyrus marched in from the pathway. He did not look pleased. Sans smiled at him. "sup, bro?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT 'SUP', BROTHER! IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING!?" His voice sounded like what pretty much everyone envisioned it as. High pitched, loud, bold, confident. Pick your adjective. 

"staring at this lamp. it's really cool. do you wanna look?"

Papyrus began stomping his foot on the ground repeatedly. "NO!! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!! WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!?! I WANT TO BE READY!!!" I snickered quietly as Flowey groaned. Papyrus continued, "I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!" He moved his hand to his chest, puffing it out in a heroic pose as his red scarf flapped in the wind. "THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS... WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE!! RESPECT... RECOGNITION... I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK TO BE MY, "FRIEND?" I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING!" 

"hmm..." Sans moved his eye lights back to the lamp. "maybe this lamp will help you."

"SANS!" Papyrus cried out, and a laugh escaped me. I covered my mouth quickly as Flowey whispered, "Hold it together! He's not _that_ funny!" 

"I can't! I just... I'm not even _behind_ the lamp!" I snickered as I whispered back. The background noise died down. I peeked over the counter of the sentry station to see that Papyrus had indeed heard me. He looked over quizzically in my direction, but didn't spot me. He squinted his eye sockets as he looked over at Sans. 

"SANS..."

"yeah, bro?"

"WHAT DO YOU HAVE HIDDEN IN YOUR SENTRY STATION?..." Papyrus began to move towards us, so I quickly ducked underneath the counter. The crunching sound from his footsteps in the snow inched closer until they finally stopped. Suddenly his red gloved hand shot into view as it tried to reach for something. I backed against the shelves under the counter, touching a bottle of ketchup. I grabbed it, holding it out. Papyrus stretched out his fingers, searching for something until his bone clanked against the glass bottle. He grabbed it hastily, and his hand vanished from sight. I slowly edged out over the counter to find Papyrus standing almost directly in front of me, but he was turned the other way, inspecting the bottle. 

"SANS, WHAT'S THIS?..."

"whaddaya mean?" Sans smiled innocently.

"YOU'VE BEEN DRINKING KETCHUP ON THE JOB AGAIN, HAVEN'T YOU!?!"

"what can i say, bro? you're quick to _ketchup_."

"OH MY GOD!" Papyrus yelled as he threw his arms up into the air. The bottle flew from his hand and landed in the snow. 

"c'mon, you're smiling." Sans teased.

"I AM! AND I HATE IT!!" Papyrus sighed heavily as he looked up towards the top of the caverns. "UGH, WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION?"  
Before I gave Sans a chance to respond I jumped up onto the counter, swinging my legs around the front of it. Flowey gave me a flabbergasted expression and I held my hand up and said loudly, "Sup, Papyrus?"

The two brothers stared at me, Papyrus's eye sockets widened and his jaw dropped open. He then looked at Sans, who turned his gaze towards me. Papyrus looked back at me as Sans looked back at Papyrus. They exchanged glances back and forth repeatedly as I smiled gleefully at the two of them. The glances intensified to the point where the two of them were spinning until they both finally stopped. Papyrus sprinted next to his brother as they turned away from me, whispering to each other. Sans only went up to Papyrus's shoulder. I watched Papyrus as he hunched over slightly to get closer to Sans's level.

"SANS!! OH MY GOD!! IS THAT... A HUMAN!?!?!??!?!" The two of them turned back around to face us. Sans cocked his head, squinting his eyes at Flowey. Flowey returned it with a glare.  
"umm... actually, i think that's a flower."

"OH." Papyrus said, like it was obvious. 

"hey, what's that the flower's hangin' onto?"

Papyrus squinted his eye sockets at me again, then his expression brightened up. "OH MY GOD!!!" He leaned down towards Sans again, hiding his mouth with his hand as he whispered, "IS... IS THAT A HUMAN?"

"yes." Sans whispered back.

"OH MY GOD!!!" 

"Oh, brother." Flowey scoffed. "Can we just--"

"SANS! I FINALLY DID IT!! UNDYNE WILL... I'M GONNA... I'LL BE SO... POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!! POPULAR!!!" 

"yeah. good job, bro."

"Wow, you're so cool!" I said in delight. "Are you gonna try to capture me now!?"

"You _can't_ be serious!" Flowey said. "We don't have time for--"

"YOU... YOU THINK I'M COOL?..." Papyrus asked eagerly.

"Heck yeah!" I said, being completely honest.

Papyrus put his hands to his cheekbones as they turned a slight orange. His eyes sparkled, but he brushed it off quickly. He pointed at me dramatically as he shouted, "OH, HO, HUMAN!! YOU WON'T DISTRACT ME WITH FLATTERY! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL CAPTURE YOU AND DELIVER YOU TO THE CAPITAL! THEN... WELL, I'M NOT SURE WHAT COMES NEXT...."

"The suspense is killing me." Flowey said sarcastically. 

"CONTINUE, ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!" Papyrus cackled as he scurried out of sight, only to poke his head back in to deliver one more "HEH!" before he finally disappeared. I smiled as I watched him leave. Flowey, however, just looked annoyed. 

"well, that went well." Sans said, looking after his brother. He turned to me and said, "i'd better catch up to him. thanks for doin' this. you don't have to endure his puzzles and japes." 

"It's no problem! I'm having fun, but I can't hang around for too long." I hopped off of the sentry station counter and walked over next to Sans. "Flowey's right. We're in a bit of a hurry. We can't play around too much or the day will reset before we can make any breakthroughs."

"i gotcha." Sans sighed. "any leads on where to start?"

"Not a clue..." I admitted. "But if anything I can explore the Underground for some kind of ideas. Maybe if I ask around I can find something?"

"good luck. i've asked everyone... even temmie village. i've come up with zilch." 

W.D. Gaster suddenly crossed my mind. I almost mentioned him, but decided against it. After all... Gaster didn't really exist in the game. At least not at first unless you changed the codes. I'd heard about the recent update where he could pop up, but I'd never looked into it to see if it were true. I broke the silence as I said, "Well, I'm here for a reason, so maybe I'll find something you missed." I looked at Sans to find him staring at the ground. He had a smile plastered on his face, as usual. I crossed my arms as I continued, "Listen, Sans..." He looked up at me slowly. "I know the despair you're feeling. I know I just met you, but hell... You may be smiling, but I can see it in your eye sockets. And I can feel it in your requip..." I paused as he stared at me. His eyes felt like they rested on my very soul. I took a step closer to him. "Even if there's another reset before we solve this... I'll remember. I'll remember everything, and I'll keep looking until I find an answer. I'm gonna fix this timeline. I swear."

"heh..." Sans chuckled. "you're, uh... very determined, aren't you?" I gave him a small shrug, but smiled. He continued, "alright. you win. i won't give up just yet."

"SANS!!!" Papyrus cried out from the distance, making the three of us jump.

"Why is he so loud?" Flowey grumbled. 

"comin', bro." Sans said quietly. "see ya' around." He said to me, then turned around, heading towards the Ruins. I watched him walk away in the wrong direction as Flowey asked, "So, what now? You gonna poke and prod all through the Underground to find a solution?"

I looked down at Flowey as I answered him. "Nope. We're going to Waterfall." I looked back up to see that Sans had disappeared from sight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boy, I remember how fun this chapter was to write. (I'm WAY ahead of you guys with this fic. Like waaaaaaaaaaay ahead.) Papyrus and Sans are so much fun to write. And so is Flowey, might I add!


	3. You Beat Me to the Punch, Doll

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of puns are thrown around, and we fight The Great Papyrus!

Flowey spoke as I stared out towards the door to the Ruins. "Oh, so Snowdin was the important place at first, but now you wanna go to Waterfall?"

"I want to look around there, so yes! Why are you being so freakin' sassy!?" 

"Because you keep going back and forth between 'Let's save everyone! I'm determined!' to 'Let's do puzzles and make stupid jokes with dumb skeletons!" 

"Well, excuse me! Damn!" 

"Yeah, you better apologize."

"Hey! You are _not_ in charge here!"

"Pfft, I _should_ be." 

"Oh, and before I forget..." I began, pointing a finger at Flowey. "You'd better be nice to Papyrus!"

Flowey rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I get it. Be nice to everyone."

"I mean it!" I said as we headed in the same direction as Papyrus. We found ourselves next to the box with the sign. I decided to leave the box alone for the time being. It basically held the same principals as my spacial storage, so I didn’t really need it. I knew the path ahead held the area where Papyrus first saw Frisk. Another path lied North. I followed that path first only to find it ending at the icy river's edge. A fishing pole stuck out of the snow, the line waving around in the water. I went to the fishing pole and knelt down, then reeled it in. Attached to the end of it was a photo of a weird looking monster and a note that read, "Call me! Here's my number!" I decided not to call.

I followed the path back and headed East. Neither Sans or Papyrus were there. We kept on, passing Papyrus's sentry station and onto Doggo's. I had almost forgotten about him until he slowly creeped up from under the counter. I stopped dead in my tracks as Doggo looked around with his shifty eyes. "Did something move? Was it my imagination?" He had a smoker's voice, almost like a growl. Flowey began cracking up at my facial expression. I glared down at him as Doggo continued, "I can only see moving things... If something was moving, for example..." He leaned forward, hopping out of his sentry station as he growled, "a human... I'll make sure it NEVER moves again!" 

Flowey slid one of his vines down to the ground, hiding the movement from Doggo. The vine grazed my leg as it slid down, and I had to hold back laughter as it tickled me. Doggo's ears perked up as the noise mumbled behind my closed mouth. Flowey picked up enough snow to make a small snow decahedron. He waited until Doggo turned away from us, then threw it. Doggo immediately began barking, and chased after it. He fell down on all fours, dropping his twin daggers, and intently stared at the spot where the snowball smashed into the ground. Doggo chanted, "MOVING! MOVING! MOVING!" as Flowey and I made our escape. 

"Nice one, Flowey!" I whispered.

"Would you shut up and just get us out of here!?" He snapped.

"Geez, rude!" I said as I ran into the next area. I took note that Sans wasn't standing right by the entrance to tell me about blue stop signs. I guessed he didn't bother since I already knew enough about the rest of them. In the middle of an icy patch stood another sign. It read, "North: Ice. South: Ice. West: Ice. East: Snowdin Town (...and ice)." A path lead North of the sign, and I knew the snowman would be there. I decided to press on without heading that way. I continued heading East and found the skele-brothers with Papyrus's invisible electricity maze. Papyrus was in the middle of giving Sans a lecture.

"YOU'RE SO LAZY!! YOU WERE NAPPING ALL NIGHT!!"

"i think that's called... sleeping."

"EXCUSES, EXCUSES!" Papyrus noticed out of the corner of his eye that we had arrived. "OH-HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES!" He turned to us, delighted. "IN ORDER TO STOP YOU, MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE..." He smiled almost wickedly, "QUITE SHOCKING!!! FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS THE INVISIBLE... ELECTRICITY MAZE! WHEN YOU TOUCH THE WALLS OF THIS MAZE, THIS ORB WILL ADMINISTER A HEARTY ZAP!" Papyrus held out a small, blue, crystal orb proudly. "SOUND LIKE FUN???"

"Yes!" I exclaimed, smiling eagerly. 

"GOOD BECAUSE! THE AMOUNT OF FUN YOU WILL PROBABLY HAVE IS ACTUALLY RATHER SMALL I THINK."

"Bring it on, Paps!" I held up my fists, ready to start the challenge. 

"OK, YOU CAN GO AHEAD NOW."

I took a step forward without hesitation, and the orb Papyrus held zapped him as soon as my foot touched the ground. I felt kind of bad as Flowey began laughing uncontrollably. Sans let out a small, "pfft..."

"SANS!!!" Papyrus cried out as he shook himself, and began stomping the ground. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!"

"i think the human has to hold the orb." 

"OH, OKAY." Papyrus said, recovering instantly from his flustered state. He then walked to the side of the maze, making his way towards me and Flowey as he followed the path to successfully traverse the maze, however, he left his footprints in the snow, revealing the solution. Flowey gawked at Papyrus in disbelief as he reached the side of the maze I stood on. He handed me the orb with a big smile on his face. "HOLD THIS, PLEASE!" He quickly ran back through the maze and over to Sans's side, then cried out, "OKAY, TRY NOW!" I then easily walked through the maze, stepping inside of Papyrus's footprints. His feet were much bigger than mine. That, or his boots just had large soles. I made it successfully to the other side, smiling up at Papyrus. He was so tall that I only went up to his shoulders. 

"INCREDIBLE! YOU SLIPPERY SNAIL!! YOU SOLVED IT SO EASILY... TOO EASILY!! HOWEVER! THE NEXT PUZZLE WILL NOT BE EASY! IT IS DESIGNED BY MY BROTHER, SANS! YOU WILL SURELY BE CONFOUNDED! i KNOW I AM! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!" 

Papyrus quickly scuttled away. Sans smiled in his direction. I watched Sans watch after his brother, unable to not smile. The skeleton brothers had always been two of my favorites from the game. Their bond struck something in me that made me love the two of them. Maybe because my sister and I weren't very close, so seeing sibling bonds always got me. 

I threw the orb onto the ground next to me, catching Sans's attention. "thanks..." He began, "my brother seems like he's having fun. isn't he cool?"

"No..." Flowey grumbled.

"Heck yeah! I love Papyrus!" I said, drowning out Flowey's negative input. 

"oh, you _love_ him, huh? i'll have to high five him later..." Sans chuckled.

"Not like THAT! I just mean I admire him, and I care about him is all."

"oh, really?"

"Yeah. I feel that way about all of you, Sans."

"good to know there are still good humans out there."

I paused, wondering if he still held any resentment towards Frisk. "Hey, you're not--" I began, but Flowey's sudden gagging noise swallowed up the rest of my question. Sans and I both turned our gaze to him as he returned it with a disgusted look and said, "Sorry, your bonding was making me sick. Can we move on?"

I cut Flowey a glare as Sans shrugged. "the weed's right. i'm gonna catch up to pap." 

"Can I, uh..." I began. "Can I walk with you? He's just up ahead, right?"

Sans gave a shrug. "ok." We moved onto the next area. I looked to my left as the Nice Cream guy came into view, sulking as he leaned against his cart. He sighed sadly as we passed him. I stopped walking and turned back to look at him. Sans stopped and raised a brow bone at me as Flowey asked, "What now!?" 

"Oh, it's just... I'm kind of low on items, and poor Nice Cream guy looks like he could use a confidence boost..."

"Well, if you'd _fight_ people you'd have G to buy items!" Flowey snapped.

"Noooooo, I'm not gonna hurt people for money!" 

"Then you can just die in battle! How about that?" 

"Maybe I'll get something for destroying your ass!" I crossed my arms. "Seriously, I'm getting sick of your shit, Flowey!"

Sans chuckled, then went over to the Nice Cream guy. He slowly opened one eye, and upon seeing Sans, perked up. "Whoa, Sans! Are you a customer?" He asked excitedly.

"yeah. i'll take one." Sans gave the Nice Cream guy a friendly smile as he handed him the money, and in return, got a nice cream bar. 

"Here you go! Have a super-duper day!" the Nice Cream guy said as Sans walked back over to me. "thanks, buddy." Sans said over his shoulder. He then held the nice cream bar out to me. "here ya' go."

"Oh, Sans, you didn't have to do that!" I took the bar from him. It went straight into my inventory as Sans gave another shrug. 

"you're probably gonna fight my brother soon. i didn't want ya' going in without something to heal with."

"Oh, well... Thanks." I gave him a smile. "You're a really nice guy, Sans." 

"nah." He said simply. "i'm really more of an _ice_ guy."

"An ice pun. Really?" I said, unamused as we began walking again, turning to the right. I could see the large snowball and the hole towards the bottom for the ball game. I wanted to give it a try, but I knew we were on a time limit. Flowey had already yelled at me enough for one day, so I left the game alone. We passed by the hole in the ground and the snowdecahedron and onto the next area. Papyrus stood alone, his face lighting up as he spotted us. However, it quickly changed when he realized that Sans had walked in with me.

"SANS!!" 

"sup, papy?" He bypassed the puzzle, joining Papyrus's side. 

"WHY ARE YOU WITH THE HUMAN!?!"

"huh..." He looked over his shoulder at me. "she must've been following me."

"WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT?????"

"probably tryin' to figure out the answer to my puzzle." Sans replied nonchalantly.

Papyrus gasped. "YOU'RE RIGHT, SANS! THAT HUMAN IS AS CRAFTY AS EVER!"

"yeah, she is."

"IT'S ALRIGHT, SANS. PLAY IT COOL SO SHE DOESN'T KNOW WE'RE ONTO HER TRICKS!" 

"I'm right here, you know." I giggled as I put my hands on my hips. Papyrus shot his gaze towards me, my voice catching his attention. He instantly perked back up as he shot a pointed finger towards me. 

"HUMAN!!! I HOPE YOU'RE READY FOR..." Papyrus paused as he looked out at the almost empty space in between us. "SANS!! WHERE'S THE PUZZLE!!!?"

"it's right there. on the ground. trust me. there's no way she can get past this one."

I stepped forward to indeed find the Monster Kids word search. I bent down and picked it up, staring at it, trying not to crack up. I knew Sans was lazy, but a puzzle like this to capture a human was just hysterical. Flowey leaned over, rubbernecking at the paper. 

"Are you kidding me with this crap?" He scoffed, then snatched the paper from me as he looked at it with his face scrunched up. "One of the words is literally the top row of letters! Who wrote this!?"

"Uh, the puzzles for _me_ , not for you! Give it back!" I said.

"Wait, I found 'monster!'"

"Hey, stop solving my puzzle!" 

"Give me a minute! I'm on a roll!" 

"I'm the human! I get the puzzle! I wanna find 'em!" 

"No way! I'm bored out of my mind! It's my turn to do something!"

"Well, it's about time you did _something_!" I said, laughing slightly. Flowey finally turned his attention away from the puzzle and to me, looking appalled. The two of us glared at each other as Sans chuckled. "see? they're so distracted they forgot we're here." 

Flowey then grabbed both sides of the paper and ripped it in half. Papyrus and I both gasped in unison as Sans tried to hold back a laugh. Flowey smirked at me as he released the torn pieces. "There. Now _nobody_ gets it."

"You BASTARD!" I said, clenching my fist."What're you going to do about it?" Flowey taunted me.

"I'll pluck your petals and throw you into the Core!" 

"I'll rip you to tiny, bloody pieces before I let that happen!" 

"I CAN'T BELIEVE HE RIPPED UP THE PUZZLE!" Papyrus said, still in shock.

"it was a _tear_ -able thing to do." Sans said.

"SANS!!"

"what?"

"YOU DON'T GET IT! THIS IS BAD! I CAN'T LET THE FLOWER CAPTURE THE HUMAN BEFORE I DO!!" 

"you're right, bro. you'd better fight her before he does."

Sans's words caught my attention, and I looked away from Flowey to the brothers. Flowey followed my gaze. Papyrus stuttered slightly as he blinked down at Sans nervously. "FIGHT HER? SO SOON? BUT THAT WOULDN'T BE RIGHT! I HAVE SO MANY MORE PUZZLES FOR HER TO DO!! SHE HASN'T EVEN GOTTEN TO TRY ANY OF MY SPAGHETTI YET!" 

"hey, do it how you want, bro, but i'm just sayin'... you're not the only sentry out here looking for humans. the royal guard is on patrol, too. what if someone else gets to her first?" Sans cut me a look. I realized he was trying to speed things along, and add, "Oh, yeah! Doggo almost got me back there! I'm lucky that I escaped!" 

"WHAT!? DOGGO!?! HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO NAIVE!?!?" Papyrus then pointed at me, placing his other hand on his boney hip. "ALRIGHT, HUMAN!! THAT'S IT!! I'M SORRY! OUR TIME TOGETHER HAS BEEN BRIEF, BUT FEAR NOT! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL TAKE GOOD CARE OF YOU UNTIL YOU ARE TAKEN TO THE CAPITAL!"

"Wait... You're going to fight him? Yes!! Finally!!" Flowey said excitedly. 

"I'm not _actually_ going to fight him." I whispered. 

Sans walked to the side of the puzzle space, watching us carefully. I tried not to stare back at him as Flowey asked, "You mean... you're actually going to make me sit through another mercy run?"

"Yup!" I said, putting my hands on my hips.

"Ugh..." Flowey rolled his eyes as Papyrus cried out, "PREPARE YOURSELF, HUMAN!!"

"Ready when you are, Pap!" I yelled back. 

Our surroundings flashed, and everything turned black and white, save for my pink soul. I gazed down at it again, raising a brow. 

"What is with this soul color?..." I whispered as Flowey tugged on my arm slightly with his vines. "Can I at least sit over there?" He asked.

"If you want to sit next to Sans, then go right ahead." I laughed as I crossed my arms, looking over at Sans. He returned it with a smile, glowing his eye at Flowey, who cringed in response. "Ugh, whatever." He scoffed.

"BECAUSE YOU ARE AT A CLEAR DISADVANTAGE, HUMAN, I'LL ALLOW YOU TO HAVE THE FIRST MOVE!" Papyrus said. 

"Aww, that's so sweet of you, Pap! Say, you don't mind if I change clothes for the occasion, do you?" I asked politely.

"WHY, OF COURSE NOT, HUMAN! I WANT YOU TO BE READY!" 

"Alrighty, then..." I paused, thinking carefully of which requip would work best against Papyrus's magic. I quickly decided on my Fanalis armor, thinking the agility boost would help me out against his blue attack, then yelled, "REQUIP!!" My magic took over quickly, and my outfit changed, however, I immediately began to shiver. I had forgotten the armor was nothing but a thin, sleeveless dress and no shoes. 

"Ahhhh, geez, my feet! Ah! Ah!" I cried out as I curled my toes up in the snow. 

"Of all the things to requip into, why this!?" Flowey grumbled as he began to shiver on my arm.

"To fight Papyrus I need to be agile!" 

"Now _I'm_ colder! At least put your sweater back on!" 

"I can't! This is my armor, and this is how it stays! My feet feel like they're getting frost bite, and I'm the one doing all the work, but you didn't think about that, did you? No! You only ever think about yourself!" I said, shivering still. Papyrus, however, didn't seem worried about my outfit choice. 

"VERY IMPRESSIVE, HUMAN! BUT YOUR MAGIC WON'T HELP YOU PAST MY FABLED BLUE ATTACK! GET READY BECAUSE IT'S COMING VERY SOON!" 

"G-go ahead, Papy!" I said, giving him a thumbs up as I shivered in place. 

"Smiley Trashbag! Give her your jacket!" Flowey cried out.

"nah." Sans replied simply.

"S-seriously!?!" 

"sorry to give you the _cold_ shoulder."

"AGGGH!!" 

"SANS!!" 

"what? am i being too _cold_ blooded?" Sans and I tried to contain laughter as Papyrus growled, throwing his arms up and said, "NYEEEEH, DON'T RUIN THIS FOR ME!!!"

"alright, i'm done. go ahead, pap."

Papyrus then conjured up three bones. They moved towards me slowly, and I easily kicked them away, one at a time. I landed back in place quickly, balling my fists and smiling at him. Papyrus laughed, "NYEH HEH HEH! VERY GOOD, HUMAN! NOW IT'S YOUR TURN!" 

"Huh?..." I asked.

"IT'S YOUR TURN TO ATTACK! GO AHEAD! GIVE IT YOUR BEST!" 

"Uhh..." I blinked at him, still confused as Flowey rolled his eyes. "It's your turn to attack. Try and keep up, idiot." 

"Oh..." I said as it finally clicked. I still wasn't used to fighting turned based. I could feel Sans's eye sockets on me as I faced Papyrus. I tried to resist looking at him with everything in me. The aura around him sent shivers down my spine. Then again, it could have been the cold. "So, it's my turn..." I paused, pondering what I should do to progress the fight. I knew I wasn't going to hurt Papyrus, so fighting wasn't an option. Finally, I decided to follow Frisk's lead in the game. I placed my hand on my hip. "Hey there, tall, dark and skeletal... Where can I get tickets to the gunshow?" I gave him a wink and blew him a kiss to add some flare. The three boys all gaped at me before Sans let out a small, "pfft..."

"WHAT!? FLIRTING!?! SO YOU FINALLY REVEAL YOUR ULTIMATE FEELINGS!" Papyrus said, flabbergasted. I gave him a shrug and a smile as Sans gave him a thumbs up. "way to go, papy!"

"SANS, YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!" Papyrus said, flustered. He turned his attention back to me. "I SUPPOSE THIS MEANS I'LL HAVE TO GO ON A DATE WITH YOU..."

I gasped in delight. "Aww, really!?"

"Okay, we'll definitely have to skip that one." Flowey said.

"LET'S DATE LATER! AFTER I CAPTURE YOU!" 

"Okay, Paps! Your turn!" I said.

"ALRIGHT! GET READY FOR MY BLUE ATTACK!! NYEH HEH HEH!" Papyrus then sent a flurry of blue bones at me. I stopped dead, trying my damndest not to shiver so I wouldn't get hit. Flowey had ceased all movement as well, and the two of us stayed frozen. (No pun intended.) The bones phased right through us, and not a single one gave me any damage. However, right at the end of the attack, my pink soul turned a dark blue, and the weight of it pulled me down to the ground, plummeting Flowey and me both into the snow. "YOU'RE BLUE NOW!" Papyrus said with pride. "THAT'S MY ATTACK!"

"You're right..." I said, trying to pull myself up out of the snow as Flowey spit snow out of his mouth. "I guess I'm feelin' pretty _down_." Papyrus's eyes widened as Sans let out a small chuckle. 

"NEVER MIND! I'LL _NEVER_ GO ON A DATE WITH YOU!" 

"Aww... but I can make spaghetti!" I said, propping myself up with my elbows. 

"YOU'RE MEETING ALL OF MY STANDARDS, BUT... I REFUSE! YOU HAVE THE SAME SENSE OF HUMOR AS MY BROTHER..." Papyrus leered in Sans's direction. Sans, however, smiled like always. 

"looks like nothin' can get _pasta_ you, bro."

"SANS!!" 

"don't break her heart, pap. she's already feelin' _blue_."

"THEN YOU TAKE HER ON A DATE!" 

"He's right, Sans... " I smiled at him in the snow. "We'd make a _pun_ believeable pair." 

Sans laughed, looking away as he scratched his cheek, and a light blue blush glowed across his face. Flowey growled in frustration as he lied in the snow, shivering. Papyrus stomped the ground, grabbing our attention and putting us back on track.

"THAT'S ENOUGH! IT'S YOUR TURN, HUMAN!!" I tried to stand up, but the weight on my soul held me down to the ground. I managed to sit up on my knees, but only because of the requip. My legs shook from the force of the weight, and the bitter cold. I gave Papyrus a smile as I hugged myself for warmth. "I'll just spare you this turn."

"VERY WELL, THEN! HERE'S ANOTHER ATTACK!" Papyrus cried out, then sent more bones my way. I jumped over them using my leg power from my requip to jump over and in between moving bones. I managed to get through without a single hit, but exhaustion began to creep up in the back of my eyes. My requip's "quirk" was starting to kick in. After his attack finished, I fell to one knee, placing my hands on my hips triumphantly. 

"WOWIE!! NOT EVEN A SINGLE HIT!! I'M IMPRESSED!!"

"And I'm sparing you again this turn!" 

"NO, I CAN'T BE IMPRESSED!! DODGE ALL THAT YOU CAN, HUMAN! I'LL CAPTURE YOU REGARDLESS, AND FINALLY JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD!!" 

"Well, the Great Papyrus, it's your turn!" 

"YES, I CAN ALREADY SEE IT! POPULAR! PRESTIGIOUS! UNDYNE WILL BE REALLY PROUD OF ME!" 

Papyrus then shot out another attack. I began dodging as quick as I could, but the cold and weight started to get to me. The first few went well, but I got stuck in between bones coming from above and below. I hit the ground, just barely dodging the first bone that came flying at me, but didn't dodge the next two in time. Papyrus looked at me uneasily as I struggled to stand up. I shrugged as I panted and said, "Is that all you got, Papy!?"

"FOR THIS TURN, YES! BUT! PREPARE SOON FOR MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!"

"Alright, then it's my turn again! I'll spare you!" 

"AGAIN!? WELL, HUMAN... YOU WON'T SWOON ME SO EASILY! HERE'S ANOTHER ATTACK!!" 

I braced myself as Papyrus sent more bones my way. I began jumping through, but tripped and hit the ground hard. Papyrus gasped, then shouted, "BE CAREFUL! DON'T GET HURT!" 

"You need to heal, you idiot!" Flowey said.

"Good idea..." I groaned as I sat up in the snow, trying to get to my inventory.

"Ha! You'd die without me." Flowey smirked.

"If I die, I'm taking you with me." I said as I pulled out the nice cream Sans got for me. I looked at it, unsure of if it would actually heal me. I opened the wrapper and a small voice said, "You look nice today!" 

"Aww!" I smiled, then took a small bite. I shuddered from the cold, but the flavor coated my mouth. It tasted pretty similar to the ice cream bars back home. After the bite, however, the rest of the bar disappeared. I watched my health bar increase, then let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, I used my turn! Your go, Papy!" 

Papyrus sighed, but quickly shook his head. "MY BROTHER..." He said, slowly turning towards Sans. I had forgotten he had been watching the fight from the sidelines, and turned to look at him myself. He had fallen asleep standing up. Papyrus continued, "...HE WON'T CHANGE MUCH." He turned his attention back to me. "BUT, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WON'T GIVE UP SO EASILY!!!" He then shot out another bone attack. I managed to dodge a good amount, only getting hit at the end. "GET READY! HERE COMES MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!"

"But, hey! It's my turn!" I whined.

"AFTER YOUR TURN, OF COURSE."

"Okay, then! I'm sparing you!" 

"OKAY! HERE COMES MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!" 

I braced for impact, but blinked when I looked up to see the annoying dog suddenly in the middle of the arena. Papyrus's eyes widened as the little white dog danced in place just as he sunk his teeth into a bone. We stared at him in silence until Papyrus cried out, "HEY! THAT'S MY SPECIAL ATTACK!!" 

The dog's eyes widened, and then he sprinted off with the bone. I waved, and quietly whispered, "Bye, Toby..."

"SANS!!" Papyrus screamed, snapping Sans awake. His left eye flashed slightly from jumping, but he recovered quickly, smiling like always. "sup? what'd i miss?"

"UGH, NEVER MIND..." Papyrus sighed, exasperated as he rubbed his temples. "THE DOG IS LONG GONE NOW. I'LL JUST USE A REALLY COOL REGULAR ATTACK." The bones started coming as Papyrus said in disappointment, "UGH. HERE'S AN ABSOLUTELY NORMAL ATTACK." 

The bones came flying in rapidly, and I used every ounce of my strength to jump them. I panted, tripping as Flowey let out a yell. Finally came the giant sea of bones. I squatted down, then leapt as high as my legs would let me. The large, giant bone came slowly at the end of them. Flowey screamed as we fell down, plummeting towards the bones. 

"Are you freaking crazy!?!"

"Just trust me!" I screamed back. 

I landed hard on my feet, just past the giant bone, then quickly hopped back up just as the the bones spelling out "COOL" came. I did a front flip over those, then a back flip over the bones spelling "DUDE." Next came the one on the skateboard, zooming past. I quickly hopped over it, letting out a sigh of relief. Finally came the small, slow bone, concluding the attack. I watched it until it got close to me, then tried to simply step over it. However, I stubbed my toe on it. A negative one appeared above my head. 

"Oww." I said simply.

"Seriously?" Flowey asked.

Papyrus drew our attention back to him as he huffed. "WELL, HUMAN... IT'S CLEAR THAT... YOU CAN'T DEFEAT ME!"

"Clearly." I said, crossing my arms. 

"THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, ELECT TO SPARE YOU, HUMAN!"

"Oh, _you_ elect, huh? Then I accept!"

"WOWIE!!" Papyrus said. The color then flashed back, and my soul disappeared.

"good. we wouldn't want you getting _cold_ feet."

"It's a little late for that..." I said as I continued to shiver. I then requipped into my Calamity God armor. Warmth instantly took over as I sighed in relief. "There, that's better."

"Ugh, why do you smell like sweat all of a sudden?!?" Flowey asked, covering his face with his vines.

"It's my requip, and it's the warmest one I have, so you're just gonna have to deal!" 

Sans walked over to Papyrus as he sulked. Sans put a hand on his shoulder as Papyrus cried out, "NYOO HOO HOO!!" 

"c'mon, pap... you made the right choice."

"BUT NOW I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD. UNDYNE WILL BE DISAPPOINTED, AND MY FRIEND QUANTITY WILL REMAIN STAGNANT..."

I wasted no time, and ran up to Papyrus. I clenched my fists and said in one, quick breath, "I'll be your friend!"

"WHAT?! REALLY!?"

"Absolutely! Who wouldn't want the Great Papyrus as their friend?"

"WOWIE! WHO KNEW THAT ALL I NEEDED TO DO TO MAKE FRIENDS WAS TO GIVE PEOPLE HORRIBLE PUZZLES AND THEN FIGHT THEM?"

"Yeah, friendship is a funny thing..." I laughed.

"Yes, we're all friends, now can we get moving along!?" Flowey said, the impatience in his voice apparent. Papyrus looked down at Flowey, leaning closer and squinted his eyes at him. Flowey leaned back away from him with a disturbed expression on his face. Then Papyrus's face lit up. 

"WHY, YOU'RE THE FLOWER THAT'S BEEN TALKING TO ME!! I'D RECOGNIZE YOU ANYWHERE!"

"Geez, you just now noticed?"

"ah, so _this_ is what you were talking about?" Sans asked.

"OF COURSE! SEE, SANS! I TOLD YOU IT COULDN'T HAVE BEEN AN ECHO FLOWER!" 

"right..." Sans glared at Flowey.

"WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE MY FRIEND, TOO?" Papyrus smiled down at Flowey, who scoffed in return. I glared down at Flowey, growling as Sans flashed his eye down at him. Flowey sighed, defeated, then grumbled, "...Sure..."

"WOWIE! TWO FRIENDS IN ONE DAY! SANS, I'M ON A ROLL!" 

"heh. guess we should call you butter."

"SANS, NO."

"sans, yes."

Papyrus turned to me as his face brightened back up. "AND WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"

"Brandi!" I said.

"BRANDI... WHAT A SWEET NAME!"

"Aww, thanks, Pap." I smiled. "You're gonna make me blush!" 

"AND YOURS?" Papyrus asked, turning to Flowey. 

"...Flowey..." He replied reluctantly.

"Can't you act at least a little enthusiastic?" I asked.

"No. I can't." Flowey said.

Papyrus spun around gleefully, walking in a march towards Snowdin Town. The three of us followed him. We followed behind him in silence for a while. Sans began to speak once Papyrus was out of earshot. 

"hey. thanks a ton for humoring my brother."

"A skele-TON?"

Sans blinked, surprised, for a moment, but then chuckled slightly. "you beat me to the punch, doll."

I looked at him. "Doll?" 

"oh, yeah. i thought you'd like that better than 'toots'."

"Why?" I asked with a laugh.

"well, you dress up like a doll with your magic, don'tcha?"

"I guess that's true." I nodded.

"so... can i call you 'doll'?"

"I think that'd be okay."

"good because that's what i was gonna call you anyways."

"Then why even ask me?" I laughed again as Papyrus stretched his arms out to his sides. "WHAT A DAY THIS HAS BEEN! IF ONLY WE HAD FRISK HERE! THEY--"

Sans and I stopped walking, staring up ahead at Papyrus. He stopped walking as soon as he stopped talking. He stayed there for a moment before he slowly turned around. He looked as though he'd seen a ghost, and if he had skin, it would have been pale. He asked, "WHAT... WHAT WAS I TALKING ABOUT?..."

"You just mentioned--" I started to say, but was cut off by Sans. 

"no idea, bro. that spaghetti's really messin' with your _noodle_."

"DON'T TRY TO DISTRACT ME WITH PUNS!! NOW, WHERE AM I GOING??!??!"

"you were gonna report to undyne, remember?"

"UNDYNE! OF COURSE! SANS, I'LL BE OFF! NOW, GO BACK TO YOUR POST, YOU LAZYBONES!!"

"ok."

"BRANDI!!"

"Ah! Yes!?" I jumped at the sudden outburst.

"I'M SORRY TO SAY THIS, BUT... I'M AFRAID THAT I'LL HAVE TO CANCEL OUR DATE."

"Aww..." I pouted as I crossed my arms.

"I'M SORRY, BUT IT MUST BE THIS WAY! HOWEVER, YOU HAVE GAINED A VERY COOL FRIEND!" 

"And just like that, I've already managed to hit the friend zone..." 

"FLOWEY!!" 

Flowey jumped, then snapped, "Agh! What!?"

"...STAY COOL... NYEH HEH HEH!!" Papyrus then scuffled away, laughing excitedly. Flowey growled, letting out an aggravated sigh as I watched Papyrus until he was out of sight. Sans turned to me.

"sorry i cut you off there."

"It's okay, just... I guess you don't want to mention any of this to Papyrus?"

"i don't want him involved at all."

"Oh..."

"the less he knows, the better."

"Then why even ask us to entertain him at all?" Flowey asked.

Sans got quiet as he slipped his hands into his jacket pockets. "because i wanted to see papyrus do something different for a change. you can't understand how this feels..." He looked into my eyes. "i watch him do the same thing everyday. i've memorized it because i've seen it all so many times."

"I get it. But not to worry! Today's different, right? I mean, this is the first time I've been here, but... I know this isn't how it usually goes." I said.

"heh. yeah." Sans paused again, his demeanor sinking. Then, he smiled again. "listen, i'm about to go on break. wanna head to grillby's with me?"

"Oh, is this gonna be our date?" I joked.

"heh, if you want it to be."

"Well, your brother ditched me, so now I just feel rejected."

Flowey scoffed again. "Oh, we don't have time for--"

"relax, petals, it's a joke. actually, i wanna form a game plan before we separate."

"Wait, now _you're_ ditching us?" I asked, disappointed.

"more like splitting up." 

"You skeletons really know how to play with a girl's emotions." I said.

"i need to go do something while you guys search around."

"Where are you going?"

"we'll talk about it at grillby's." 

Sans reached out and grabbed my hand. The sudden touch surprised me. "c'mon. i know a shortcut." He said as he began dragging me in the opposite direction of Snowdin Town.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have so much fun writing for Flowey, Sans and Papyrus, so this chapter was a real treat for me.   
> If you guys have questions or comments, please drop them down below! I love discussing stuff!   
> Also, if you see any errors, feel free to let me know so I can get that shit outta there! :)


	4. I'm So Done with Skeletons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sans ditches us without making much of a plan, and Flowey pretends to be an echo flower. 
> 
> Then, the possibility of Dr. Gaster comes to mind, and I can't help but voice my opinion.

Our surroundings began to pixelize and phase out, and Grillby's formed around us. The sudden change made me feel slightly sick, like the first time I used my Hydrabell requip when I fought Ultear with Gray. Sans turned to me. "fast shortcut, huh?"

"Ugh, I feel kind of dizzy..." I said as I placed my hand on my stomach. "I'm gonna throw up."

"that happens at first. you get used to it."

Sans headed for the bar as I leaned against the door. "Yeah, I'll bet you say that to all the girls." I glanced around the small bar and grill. The usual crowd loafed around inside like in game. All of the dog monsters from the Royal Guard sat around the tables. Lesser Dog sat, playing poker against themselves. Dogamy and Dogeressa were nuzzling noses as Doggo stood, looking side to side around the bar. Greater Dog sat at the table, staring straight forward in a blissful daze. A monster with large teeth sat at one of the booths to the left, along with something that looked like a bag of dough with bunny ears. They stared back at me, so I looked to the bar where I found the two bird looking monsters leaning against each other, looking drunk. At the end of the bar sat the horse headed monster with sunglasses. Behind the bar stood Grillby, his head of fire dancing around as he continuously cleaned the same glass. I couldn't help but picture Natsu trying to eat him. 

"Hey, Sans!" Dogamy said.

"(Hi, Sans!)" Dogeressa interjected.

"How's it goin', Sans?" The tooth monster asked. 

"Hiya, Sansy~!" Said the rabbit head.

"Say, Sans, weren't you here for breakfast an hour ago?" The fish guy at the bar asked.

"nah, i haven't had breakfast in half an hour... you must be thinkin' of brunch!"

A drum roll played suddenly as Sans winked, shrugging his shoulders. I found it slightly irritating that the world had sound effects, but the area themes didn't play while we ran around. The bar filled with laughter as Sans proceeded to the bar. He looked over his shoulder at me as he sat down. "you comin', doll?"

"Uh... yes!" I said, smiling. Suddenly everyone's eyes in the bar were on me, including Grillby's. At least, it looked like they were through his glasses. I walked across the room as everyone's eyes followed me, suddenly feeling really shy as I joined Sans at the bar. I hated being the center of attention.

"so, whaddaya wanna eat?" Sans asked.

"Oh, I'd love a burger." I said excitedly. I had gotten pretty hungry.

"hey, that sounds pretty good! grillbz, we'll have a double order of the burg." Sans said to Grillby, who simply left without a word into the back. 

"So, you wanna tell me where you're planning on going?"

"nah, not really."

"How are you going to be any help if you don't tell us what you're doing!?" Flowey asked. 

"remind me how you're helping at all." Sans sassed.

"Okay, okay, enough with the macho act, guys... Sans, Flowey has a point. If we're going to work together to pull this off... You're going to have to trust me, okay?" 

"...it's not like that. i do trust you. after i saw the way you handled my brother, and even the way you handle the weed--" Flowey hissed at Sans, then stopped as I gave him a look. Sans continued, "anyway, as i was sayin'... i study people, and i tend to notice things. i can tell you're good. it's just... "

"Listen, Sans, you don't have to explain. I understand." He raised a brow at me. "I know a lot about everyone here, but honestly, there's still a lot I don't know about you. I know your job has something to do with finding anomalies through the timelines, and I don't know the mechanics of that because it's just way too much to take in for my right sided brain, but... My point is, I know you've got your secrets, and I can respect that. If you need to go off and do something without telling us, it's fine. As long as you come back." I smiled at him as he leaned onto the countertop.  
"wow. you catch on quick."

"Guess you could say I'm quite the _catch_."

"heh. now you're just _fishin'_ for compliments." Sans winked at me and I laughed as Grillby returned from the back carrying two plates each with a burger on it. He sat them in front of us without a word, then picked up the same glass from before and started cleaning it again. 

"That glass must be really dirty..." I said as Sans bypassed his burger and went straight into his jacket, pulling out a bottle of ketchup. I reached a hand out towards it and said, "Wait, can I have some of that before you down the whole bottle?"

"what? oh, sure. here. knock yourself out." Sans handed me the bottle, and I began to put it on my burger. The whole bottle started to spill out, but I caught it quickly. Sans snickered as I gave him the bottle back, then he took a swig out of it. 

"Anyways," I continued, "go do what you need to do. Flowey and I can start by looking around Waterfall next."

"alright. when you two reach hotland." He paused, tipping the ketchup bottle towards me. "i'll _ketchup_ with you."

"You already used that one." I said dryly.

"true."

"Okay, so, how can I contact you?" I asked. 

"don't worry. i'll keep an eye socket out for ya'."

Sans got up from his bar stool leaving his burger behind, and stuck the ketchup bottle back in his pocket. "grillbz, put it on my tab."

"Hey, wait! You're leaving already?" I asked as I swiveled around to face him. He turned back to me and shrugged. "got places to go, doll."

"Yeah, well, some date this was! I'm so done with skeletons!" I tried not to laugh as I crossed my arms. Sans gave me a small chuckle. 

"heh... i like you. you've got a good sense of humor." With that, Sans turned and left the bar. I smiled after him until I realized everyone in the bar was staring at me again. 

"You're attracting a lot of unwanted attention!" Flowey whispered.

"Blame Sans, not me!" I whispered back.

"No, I mean look at you! You have human written all over you! Don't you have any requips that make you look like a monster?"

"Well, I have my Headless Rider armor, but I can't talk with that one..."

"Sounds good to me!" Flowey smiled.

"Oh, fuck you." I said as I spun back around to the bar.

"Well, hurry up and do it!" Flowey urged.

"Yeah, in the middle of Grillby's. That won't attract unwanted attention." 

"Fine, then let's get out of here so you can do it!" 

"Hell no! I'm finishing my burger."

"Wha-- did you...? Are you serious!?" 

"Deadly. I'm starving, and this is as close to a date with Sans as I'm getting."

"Give me a break. He's not even here!" 

"I know. That's why it's sad." 

"Your existence is sad." Flowey laughed. I noticed Grillby staring at me again. I stared back as I slowly picked up my burger and took a bite out of it. While chewing I nodded my head at him and said, "Sup?"

Grillby continued to stare at me without a word. The bird monster sitting closest to me looked at me and said, "Grilbz was askin' how you know Sans! We've never seen you around here before."

"Oh." I began as I swallowed my bite of burger. "I actually just met him today. I, uh, I'm new to Snowdin, and he showed me a place to eat."

"That Sansy! He's such a nice guy~!" Said the rabbit head.

"Did you come from the city?" The horse guy asked.

"Yes! Yes, I did." I lied.

"I knew it was only a matter of time! There goes our local culture..." He whined.

"Oh, I'm not moving here. I'm just visiting!" I smiled.

"You should tell us more about yourself!" Said the other bird monster. He leaned around the other one, drooping off his stool to look at me. "Like, do you have a boyfriend?" He waggled his eyebrows at me, and I shuddered, quickly getting up from my barstool. Flowey began laughing as I said, "Okay, I'm sorry, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. I really have to go!" 

"Oh, yeah? But you didn't finish your burger!" Flowey continued to laugh. 

I grabbed the burger, shoving another bite in my mouth as I muffled out, "Fanks for deh grub, Grillby! I'll fee you guyphs arounmph!" I said, waving as I quickly left and went back out into the freezing cold. I hesitated for a moment before heading in the direction of Waterfall, quickly scarfing down the rest of my burger. Buying some more items sounded like a good idea, but I remembered I didn't have any money. 

"It's too bad they don't have any wizarding jobs here..." I grumbled.

"Any what??" 

"Ugh, never mind. C'mon, let's head to Waterfall!" I said excitedly as I threw my fist up in the air. A few monsters looked at me as I began walking in the right direction. 

"About time! I HATE this place..." Flowey growled.

"Oh, you hate everything. Quit whining."

"You're right. And I especially hate YOU."

Flowey and I continued forward, passing Sans and Papyrus's house as we headed towards the next level. I knew why Flowey hated me, and I knew he'd never really be able to love me, but that didn't matter. After hearing his story in the genocide run... Flowey instantly became one of my favorite characters in the game. A lot of people hated him, but they just didn't understand. Even if he couldn't love me like a best friend, I wanted to BE his best friend.

Upon entering Waterfall, my body instantly warmed up. The weather was nice and cool, like an autumn day, but a dampness hung in the air. We entered the room where Monster Kid stood by the water's side. He stared out at the flowing river paying me no mind. I imagined it was because I wasn't wearing a striped shirt. I thought it better to leave him alone, and started looking for Gaster's door. 

"Okay... Where to start?..."

"You feel tense." Flowey said dryly. I shot him a look.

"What?"

"I can feel your blood flow change." He got a cocky expression. "It's something I've picked up on since you became my host.”

I cringed. "Ugh, okay. Can you NOT make yourself sound like a parasite, please?"

"Ooh, you getting scared?" He asked, contorting his face to make it creepy.

"As if. I could rip you apart in seconds, dude."

"Ha! I'm starting to think that you couldn't even if you wanted to."

"It's not that I can't. I just don't want to."

"Pssh. Whatever. You're so boring..." Flowey yawned as I stopped walking. I decided to requip back into my regular clothes now that we were no longer in the snow. 

"What, no more sweaty armor?"

"I use up my magic power when I'm requipped. Now that we're out of the snow I feel like my regular clothes will be fine."

"Your magic power? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I guess you wouldn't know, huh?"

"Well, why do you think I asked?" Flowey asked condescendingly. 

I took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Okay, I'm gonna ignore your sass, and instead answer your question. Humans aren't made of magic like monsters. We have limits to our magic." 

"Seriously?" Flowey asked dryly.

"Yes. Go ahead. Call me lame."

"Well..." Flowey inhaled. "You are. But considering you can use magic at all is still surprising."

"Hold on..." I stopped walking and raised a brow at him. "Did you just compliment me?" 

"Ugh, no. It's surprising because you're so weak and stupid."

"Okay, FUCK you--" 

"YO! That was so freakin' cool!!" 

Flowey and I both stopped dead at the sudden voice. I slowly turned around to find Monster Kid standing behind me, beaming up at me with wide eyes. The short, little, armless monster looked so cute.  
He asked, "Did you just change your clothes with magic!?"

"Uhh..." Was all I could manage to get out. Flowey growled, aggressively whispering to me, "Ugh! We don't have time to waste on--"

"Wow!" Monster Kid yelled suddenly as he turned his attention to Flowey. "I've never seen a GOLDEN echo flower before! Is that yours?"

"Oh, he's not--"

"Is that yours?" Flowey said suddenly, mimicking Monster Kid as he put on a derpy face. I squinted my eyes at him. "Oh, you bastard..."

"Oh, you bastard..." Flowey mimicked me and gave me a wink. 

I coughed, trying to go along with the scenario Flowey started. "Oh, yeah, he's mine. He just looked so stupid all by himself that I just had to take him with me." 

Flowey and I shot each other a glare as Monster Kid pattered around us excitedly in place, almost like a dance. "So, you're going to see her too, right!?"

"Huh?" I asked, turning my attention back to him. 

"Undyne! She's the coolest!! I'll bet you're going to report to her right now, aren't you!?"

"Oh, no. I'm not a part of the Royal Guard... Say, you haven't seen a strange door around here, have yo--"

"Yo, what!? You're not a member of the Royal Guard!?"

"Uh, no, I--"

"You should ask Undyne if you can join! C'mon, let's go ask her together!" 

"Wait, I--" Monster Kid sprinted off before I could respond, tripping and slamming face first into the ground. I gasped as Flowey began to laugh uncontrollably. I started to go to his side, but Monster Kid perked up quickly, and continued to sprint off without us. 

I sighed, "Ah, geez... This could be a problem."

"This could be a problem." Flowey said, still fighting off laughter.

"Okay, the kid is gone. You can act like a sassy asshole again." 

"Ahh..." Flowey exhaled and smiled. "So, what door are you looking for?"

"I'll tell you, but you're going to laugh, I'm sure."

"Try me."

"I think... I think Gaster might know where Frisk is." 

"Gaster? Who the heck is that?"

"The Royal Scientist before Alphys..."

"I've never heard of him. Are you making stuff up?"

"No! Why would I?"

"I've been around a long time, alright? Not to mention Alphys is the reason I even exist. Don't you think she would have mentioned him or something?"

"Well, I think Sans might be the only person who remembers him. I'd have to ask him to be sure, but I didn't get the chance earlier."

"What happened to him?"

"Well, I've heard different things, but one theory is that he jumped into his greatest creation. The Core."

"Hey, if he was the Royal Scientist then he must've been a smart guy. Maybe he figured out that death was the only salvation from this world." 

"God, you're fuckin' morbid." I scoffed.

"Thank you!" He said with a smile.

"Anyways, what if I told you... that Gaster's not actually dead?"

"Then you were right. I'm going to laugh at you."

"But what if I am right?"

"There's no way! If he fell into the Core there's no way he'd survive that! The only monsters who can even stand being in Hotland are the ones made of fire like Vulkins and Pyropes!"

"Buuuuut, what if he _did_ survive?"

"Ugh, okay, suppose he _did_... Where has he been this whole time?"

"Well, I don't know a whole lot about Gaster other than theories..."

"How do you know so much about the rest of us, but not him?"

I sighed. "He's like... a mystery character in the game. He's only mentioned by these gray NPCs, and the only way to get them or Gaster's door to appear is by messing with the game's coding. But the after  
the last update, it's _possible_ to get his door to appear, but it's a really small chance."

"I didn't understand half of that... What are NPCs?"

"Non Playable Characters."

"Okay, so... how do you mess with coding in real life?"

"Pfft, no idea."

"So, what theory are you going off of here?"

"It's said that Gaster's not dead, but that he's lost throughout space and time." 

Flowey raised a brow. "Annnnnnd, that helps us _how_ exactly?"

"Well, I have a feeling that the daily reset has something to do with this universe's timeline getting messed up, and was probably caused by Frisk's disappearance."

"So, you think that something caused Frisk to disappear, and that set the day to reset...?"

"Yes!" I said excitedly. "Because the day doesn't go properly without Frisk here, so Frisk being missing, the main variable for the day to "progress" is "restarting the file"... Does that make sense?"

"Not in the slightest, but what do I know?"

"You are _really_ unhelpful, you know that?"

"So, what does Gaster have to do with this?"

"Okay, I'm thinking that if Gaster can get lost in space and time, then why not someone else?"

"I get it. You think the same thing that happened to Gaster happened to Frisk, right?"

"Right. And if we find Gaster, we find Frisk."

"So, again, how are we going to find Gaster?"

"I... have no clue."

"Do you at least know where this door is supposed to appear?"

"Yes, but I have no idea if it'll appear or not. Even in the game there's only a ten percent chance that the door will appear when you change the coding, so..."

"Wait, ten percent? Are you serious?!"

"No, I love joking about probability. It's totally my thing." I put my hands on my hips, glaring down at Flowey. He groaned and started shaking his vines. 

"Ugh, this is so pointless! Neither of us have a chance at fixing this, and Smiley Trashbag ditched us!" 

"Sans said he'd meet back up with us, and I believe him. We just need to enlist more help is all."

"Oh, yeah? Like who?"

"A certain nerd who lives on the other side of Waterfall that can write programs and coding."

"Alphys?" Flowey laughed. "What good will she do?"

"A lot more than either of us!" 

"Okay, so let's head to Hotland."

"Ugh, God... the name itself sounds horrible." I whined as I began walking in the direction Monster Kid went. 

"Can't you just teleport us there?"

"I told you, I can't teleport unless I've already been there. Besides, Gaster's door is in Waterfall. If we're lucky it'll appear on its own, and we won't need Alphys."

"Somehow, I doubt we'll get that lucky."

We moved forward in silence, passing through the room with the falling rocks, then onto the first room with tall grass. I made my way into it, shifting through carefully as I tried not to step on the bugs crawling around on the ground. I stopped dead when I suddenly heard Papyrus's voice.

"H... HI, UNDYNE! I'M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT... UHHH... REGARDING THAT HUMAN I CALLED YOU ABOUT EARLIER..." He paused for a moment. I tried my best to peek through the tall grass and up at the two on the ledge. Papyrus continued, "HUH? DID I FIGHT THEM? Y-YES! OF COURSE I DID! I FOUGHT THEM VALIANTLY!" He paused again as Undyne turned to him, adorned in her full armor. Even though I knew what she looked like now, I could never forget the first time I'd seen her. Mysterious and terrifying. 

"...WHAT? DID I CAPTURE THEM...? W-W-WELL... NO. I TRIED VERY HARD, UNDYNE, BUT IN THE END... I FAILED..." He paused again as Undyne turned towards him. "...W-WHAT? YOU'RE GOING TO TAKE THE HUMAN'S SOUL YOURSELF..."

"Oh, no..." I whispered.

"BUT, UNDYNE, YOU DON'T H-HAVE TO CAPTURE THEM! YOU SEE... YOU SEE..." Papyrus paused again. "...I UNDERSTAND... I'LL HELP YOU ANY WAY I CAN..." Papyrus turned and left the room. 

"Oh, shit..." I grumbled. 

"Great! Now the psychopathic fish lady is after us!" Flowey whispered back.

"I love Undyne, but I was really hoping we could avoid her for now..."

"Get us out of here before she finds us!" 

I crouched down and began to slowly move through the bushes, but I quickly landed on a twig and the snap echoed across the room. Undyne instantly shot her gaze in our direction. I stopped, frozen with fear as she made her way to the end of the ledge. She generated an energy spear and gripped it as she scanned the tall grass, searching for us. After not finding anything, she stepped back, putting her spear away, and disappeared from sight into the shadows. I quickly ran out of the tall grass, letting out the breath I held in and said, "Jesus Christ! That was terrifying!" 

Monster Kid ran out from the bushes, pitter pattering around me excitedly. Flowey sighed, "Can we just ditch the kid?"

"Yo! Dude! Did you see the way she was starin' at you!? If we catch her, she'll definitely let you join the Royal Guard! C'mon!" Monster Kid said just before he sprinted off again. He tripped again, but quickly got back up from it and continued, unfazed.

"You're not planning on making anymore friends, are you?" Flowey asked.

"I'd love to, but we don't' have the time. Besides, I know Undyne would just try to kill me. I'd really like to avoid fighting her."

"You could just kill her."

"For the last time, I'm NOT killing anybody! I don't care who it is!" 

"Alright, alright, geez." Flowey grumbled. "The skeleton can crack jokes, and it's hilarious..." 

"What are you bitching about now?"

"Nothi-- Ah!" Flowey screamed as Aaron suddenly appeared in front of us. Our surroundings flashed into black and white, and my pink soul appeared. 

"Aaron flexes in! ;)" Aaron said.

"Oh, for fuck's sake..." I said as I cringed away.

"Just kill him!" Flowey said.

"Tempting... but no." 

I sighed, then flexed. Flowey looked at me like I was crazy. Aaron then flexed twice as hard. 

"Ooh, flexing contest? Okay, flex more! ;)" Aaron replied.

"Ah, ugh, okay, I can't. He sounds exactly like the voice Cheyenne gave him!" 

"Huh?" Flowey asked.

"Okay, don't you have anything better to do?" I turned my attention back to Aaron.

"Playing hard to get? Don't worry, you'll change your mind! ;)" Aaron said as he flexed again. 

I growled in frustration, clenching my fists and demanded, "Move out of the way." Aaron then went to the edge of the river and playfully splashed me with water. 

"THAT'S IT! I'M TRIGGERED!" I cried out as I requipped into my Satan's Son armor. I reached over my shoulder and pulled my sword from its sheath, instantly making my ears grow long like an elf, a tail grew out behind me, and my body became clad in blue flames. Aaron cowered before me. "I said... MOVE. OUT. OF. THE. WAY."

Aaron wasted no time, and quickly flew out of the room. I panted heavily, trying to calm down as Flowey looked at me wide eyed. "I feel a lot of rage coming from you right now. Did he piss you off _that_ bad?" He asked. 

"Let's just say... That guy hits way too close to home..."

"I told you to just kill him!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter ended up being kind of short, and I apologize for that, but originally I had this one and chapter five together as one BIG chapter. It was too long that way, so I chopped it up. >:3
> 
> Undyne is such an amazing character, and just like in game, it takes a second for her true personality to really shine in the story. Don't worry, though, it's coming. Soon we'll be getting off track of the original timeline, and into more original stuff, which were my favorite parts to write, honestly. 
> 
> I'd like to take a second to thank JackSepticEye for all the reference material I needed to write the "close to the original timeline scenes!" Not that he'll ever see the shout out, but what ever. XD 
> 
> Anyways, the reference to Aaron at the end is actually towards a friend of ours named Aaron who talked in this... weird voice sometimes. Cheyenne mimicked it when we played the game together, and I mostly threw this in here for her since she's basically my proof reader.


	5. Fucking Fight Me, Flowey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We get a bit of Sans's perspective as Flowey and I continue through Waterfall, trying to avoid the fishy warrior. (Not that she's suspicious. Just a fish.)

Sans peered at her from the shadows. He kept his breathing quiet, and remained deadly still. He excelled at not moving for extended periods. Just like when he watched the kid go through. 

"Can't you just teleport us there?" The flower asked.

"I told you, I can't teleport unless I've already been there. Besides, Gaster's door is in Waterfall. If we're lucky, we may find it and we won't need Alphys."

Gaster? So she knew him as well. Sans couldn't wait to interrogate her. How did she know all of this? And so confidently, too. 

"Somehow I doubt we'll get that lucky." The flower said. 

How much did she know? Did she know all of his secrets? She had said she didn’t, but it could’ve been a lie. If she _did_ , she was an even bigger threat than Sans had anticipated. He was beginning to doubt her even more.

Sans waited as the two entered a tall patch of grass. It shuffled around with her movements. Then his brother's voice erupted through the cavern.

"H-HI, UNDYNE... I'M HERE WITH MY DAILY REPORT... UHHH..."

The movement in the grass halted to a stop. Sans kept his eye sockets locked on the spot waiting for her to make a move.

He told her that he trusted her, that he only left her side because he had something to do, but it was a lie. If she knew who they were it would be easy to please him by simply not killing his brother. Acting like Papyrus hung the moon when really she saw him as nothing more than EXP. But Sans had learned his lesson. If he could murder a child over and over again, snapping her pretty neck would be effortless for him. 

Then there was that thought in the back of his mind. What Gaster had told him a long time ago. But that couldn't be right. The timeline was... different now. After what happened. 

Sans had to make sure she was good. As far as he could tell, she was, but he had to be sure. He had to keep an eye on her, even if it wasted time. After all, what good did fixing the timeline do if she turned around and murdered everyone just like the kid had? 

Yeah, he had to be sure.  
_______________________________________________________________________

After the encounter with Aaron I requipped back into my normal clothes, and we continued forward to the first bridge seed puzzle. I picked up the seeds and solved it easily, then proceeded into the next room with the larger bridge seed puzzle. I looked in the direction where I knew the abandoned quiche was, but decided not to mess with it to save time. Instead I picked up the seeds and placed them so I could progress to the other side of the river. Almost right after I stepped off the bridge, the phone Toriel had given me began to ring. Knowing who it was, I answered it immediately. 

"Hello?" I said in cheery voice.

"Seriously!?" Flowey asked.

"HELLO! THIS IS PAPYRUS!!!"

"Hey, Papy." I smiled.

"HOW DID I GET THIS NUMBER...?"

"I didn't ask--"

"IT WAS EASY!!! I JUST DIALED EVERY NUMBER SEQUENTIALLY UNTIL I GOT YOURS!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH!!" 

"Oh, yeah?" I asked with laugh.

"SO... WHAT ARE YOU WEARING...?"

I fake gasped. "Papy, how brash! And after you refused to take me on a date!" 

"I'M... ASKING FOR A FRIEND. SHE THOUGHT SHE SAW YOU WEARING A GREEN CARDIGAN. IS THAT TRUE? ARE YOU WEARING A GREEN CARDIGAN?"

I looked down at myself, and saw that I was indeed wearing a green cardigan. 

"Yes." I replied plainly.

"SO YOU _ARE_ WEARING A GREEN CARDIGAN... GOT IT!!! WINK WINK!!! HAVE A NICE DAY!!!" The phone clicked when Papyrus hung up. I sighed, putting the phone back into my pocket as Flowey asked, 

"What was that all about?"

"Well, Undyne is definitely onto us."

"Great. The day's going to end up resetting at this point."

"What time is it?"

"How should I know? Hang on, let me just check my wrist watch..."

"What, you don't have a way to tell time down here?"

"It's not like I carry a clock around with me. We don't have a day and night cycle like on the surface. I always used the entrance to the Underground to tell time.”

"Ugh, great." I pulled out my cell phone, and the one Toriel gave me. "I'm pretty sure my phone's time isn't linked with this timeline, and Toriel's phone is so old that it doesn't tell time..."

"Let's move it, then!" 

We continued onward through the wishing room. A lone telescope, the one telling me to check the wall, sat at the end. The echo flowers there whispered back and forth to one another as we passed by, giving me an idea. I knelt down next to one and whispered, "Gaster...? Are you there? Show me where I can find you."

"Do you think that'll work?" Flowey asked. 

"Do you think that'll work?" The echo flower mimicked.

"If you don't talk over what I just said it might!!" 

"If you don't talk over--" The echo flower said.

"Ugh, forget it!" I said, standing up.

"Ugh, forget it!" The echo flower repeated. 

I moved down the hallway, checking the wall as the telescope asked, and moved into the hall with the ancient writing on the wall. I didn't bother to stop and read it since I already knew what it had to say. The plaques talked about the strength of the human soul. I stepped onto the small, square board, and it floated us across to the next dock, stretching out before us. Barely any light illuminated the room. I looked around, realizing what room we were in. 

"Ah, fuck..." I said. 

"Why do you always cuss randomly?" 

"I recognize this room, and hey! I never cuss for no reason!" 

"You sure you don't have tourettes?"

"Okay, FUCK you--" A spear suddenly appeared in the air above us with a _whoom_ sound. We both stopped dead and looked up at it, then screamed simultaneously as it shot down. I jumped out of the way just in time. It pierced the dock so hard that it shook, splinters flying out around us. Undyne then appeared from the shadows without a word and started shooting three spears at a time at us. I sprinted, jumping and dodging them as Flowey and I both let out panicked screams in the process. The sound of Undyne's feet echoed behind us as I ran into the next room, but she stayed on our tail. I sprinted into the tall grass, rolling to a stop and crouching down as close as I could.

"Requip and fight her!" Flowey urged.

"Nu-uh!" I said through gritted teeth.

"But you--"

"SHH!" 

Undyne's footsteps drew closer, the ground shaking underneath the weight of her armor. Flowey and I stayed still, petrified as she stepped closer. I looked up just as she snatched up Monster Kid by the head, gasping. I knew he'd be alright, but it still alarmed me every time I saw it. I thought I was in the clear until Monster Kid said, "Yo, Undyne! You've got to meet my new friend!" 

"...What?" Undyne asked, her voice coming out muffled from inside her helmet. 

"Yeah! She has really cool magic! She's right here!" 

Before Undyne could react, I jumped out of the bushes and rolled out onto the ground. She sat Monster Kid down and marched out of the bushes as I requipped into my Hydrabell armor and opened a spatial portal. 

"Sorry, Undyne! I don't have time to chat!" I said, then threw down the portal and jumped into it. I could hear Undyne yelling, "NGAHHHH!!" behind me as we landed back at the large bridge seed puzzle where Papyrus had first called me. I sighed with relief as I closed the portal. Flowey began laughing, and I cut him a look.

"You ran! You're so lame!" 

"I'm trying to save us time!"

"Yeah, by back tracking us? Now we have to walk all the way back!" 

"No, I'm gonna wait a minute, then use a portal to go back to where we were."

After giving it a few minutes, we popped right back out where Undyne and Monster Kid were. They were both gone, however, when we arrived back. I reverted back into my regular clothes again, and we moved ahead. I found myself in the room with the crystallized cheese on a table and the mouse hole. An echo flower squeaked at me as I passed it. 

"Wait, this is it!" I exclaimed.

"What's it?" Flowey asked.

"Gaster's door. It's supposed to appear in between this room and the next one." I smiled, passing into the next room. However, I only found another glistening stone littered room with another dimensional box, and Sans’s telescope. I furrowed my brows. "I guess our fun level isn't high enough."

"Our _what_ level?" 

"Oh, well, according to the internet, your "fun" level has to be set to a certain number for the room with his door to appear. You can either change it in the codes, like I talked about it before, or you're just lucky enough that it happens to be there on its own." 

"Looks like we're not lucky after all."

"Maybe we just need to have fun?" I shrugged.

"That's stupid."

"Your attitude is stupid."

"Yeah, this is sooooo much fun." Flowey said dryly.

I ignored him, walking back and forth between the areas a few times. The room wouldn't appear, no matter how many times I passed through the threshold. 

"Look, you're wasting time doing this. Let's just get to Hotland and have Alphys help us out." 

"Yeah, you're probably right..." I said. I headed further into the room passing by the telescope. Sans wasn't next to it, which was fine by me. I didn't want to get pink paint on my eye anyways from his shenanigans. I passed by the room leading to the Nice Cream Guy's new store location, but didn't bother going inside. The small, onion shaped monster in the room stared up at me as I passed them. I gave them a small smile. They asked, "Are _you_ a star?"

I laughed awkwardly, shaking my head as I looked ahead. I knew the bird that carries you over a disproportionately small gap lied straight ahead, so I took the path below me leading into the room with all of the echo flowers and glowing blue water. I looked around, smiling peacefully at the blue aura surrounding everything. Suddenly, my phone rang, and I answered it, knowing who it was.

"Sup, Papy?" I said.

"Oh, yeah, let's save time by stopping to talk to the dumb skeleton..." Flowey rolled his eyes. 

I swatted at Flowey as Papyrus began, "HELLO! THIS IS PAPYRUS!!! REMEMBER WHEN I ASKED YOU ABOUT CLOTHES?"

"Yes..."

"WELL, THE FRIEND WHO WANTED TO KNOW... HER OPINION OF YOU IS VERY... MURDERY."

"Ya' don't say?"

"BUT I BET YOU KNEW THAT ALREADY!" 

"Yeah, she was just _spear_ -ing up to see me."

"AND TH--... DID YOU JUST MAKE A PUN?"

I laughed, "Sorry, that wasn't a good pun."

"NO PUN IS A GOOD PUN!!"

"What, you didn't think it was _punny_?"

"NO! I HATED IT!" 

I laughed again. "Aww, Pap, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you don't have a _funny bone_."

"OH MY GOD!!" Papyrus screamed so loud that I had to hold the phone away from my ear. "YOU'RE AS BAD AS MY BROTHER!!!"

"Okay, okay, I'll stop." I laughed again.

"I SWEAR! IT'S LIKE YOU TWO WERE MADE FOR EACH OTHER!" Papyrus sighed, but I stopped laughing. His comment caught me off guard for some reason. Maybe because the rest of his dialogue matched almost exactly what he said in game up until that point. I felt flustered, but tried to play it off. Flowey looked up at me.

"Yeah, right! You're brother ditched me in the middle of our date."

"UGH, HE'S SO LAZY HE CAN'T EVEN FINISH A DATE WITH SOMEONE! I'LL HAVE TO HAVE A WORD WITH HIM ABOUT THIS!" 

"Why is your heart beating so fast?" Flowey asked.

"It's not, shut up!" I whispered as Papyrus continued.

"BUT NEVERMIND THAT! BACK TO MY FRIEND..."

"Oh, right." 

"BUT BECAUSE YOU KNEW MY FRIENDS OPINION OF YOU... I TOLD HER WHAT YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE WEARING! A GREEN CARDIGAN! BECAUSE I KNEW OF COURSE... AFTER SUCH A SUSPICIOUS QUESTION... YOU WOULD OBVIOUSLY CHANGE YOUR CLOTHES! YOU'RE SUCH A SMART COOKIE!" 

"But, Pap, I didn't--"

"THIS WAY YOU'RE SAFE, AND I DIDN'T LIE!!! NO BETRAYAL ANYWHERE!!!" 

"Yeah, but--"

"BEING FRIENDS WITH EVERYONE IS EASY!" The phone clicked as Papyrus hung up just as I finally managed to say, "Papyrus, I'm still wearing that!" 

"You know, you could requip into something that makes you look less human, like we talked about before."

"Eh, there's not much of a point. I need to conserve my magic energy in case I do have to fight Undyne."

"If you're in disguise, she won't realize it's you, genius."

"Eh, I can't be bothered."

"Ugh, you're just as lazy as Smiley Trashbag." Flowey rolled his eyes again, and I thought back to what Papyrus had said. I started to get flustered again as I shook my head. Flowey instantly noticed.

"Your heart rate picked up again. Why are you so nervous?"

"Because we're on a time limit, and Undyne is on the hunt for me!" 

"Hmm..." Flowey said as he looked up at me suspiciously. I ignored Flowey as we continued forward. I had wished Papyrus hadn't put that thought in my head. I really didn't want to become one of those creepy, obsessive Sans fan girls that drew pictures of him with a blue tongue and fangs. And, uh… certain other blue appendages I won't mention. (I'd googled _Undertail_ once to see if anyone had made a Fairy Tail/Undertale AU. Imagine my surprise when I found what it actually was.) But not to kink shame anyone, not my intention at all. I had just never had any attraction to him before, so I felt really... unsure and surprised at myself. I mean... he was a skeleton! It wasn't like he had the features of most men I had been attracted to before. Then again, everyone teased me at Fairy Tail about Gray, and it never went to my head. I pushed it to the back of my mind, trying to stay focused on the problem at hand. 

We entered the room where Onionsan lived. As I moved further down the path, a tentacle rose up out of the water and slowly loomed over me. Flowey and I stared up at it as another one rose up behind us.

"Run. Run now." Flowey said.

"Oh, it's just Onionsan. They're not dangerous." 

"Yeah, but they never shut up, and they're so... awkward..."

"Oh, be nice!" I said, marching forward.

The tentacles followed me until I got into the middle of the room, then Onionsan slowly rose out of the water. They smiled brightly at us, they're big doe eyes sparkling with wonder. I smiled back at them as Flowey hung limply on my arm, defeated.

"Hey... there... Noticed you were... here... I'm Onionsan! Onionsan, y'hear!" Onionsan said merrily. I continued walking as I talked.

"Sup, Onionsan! It's nice to meet you!" 

"You're visiting Waterfall, huh! It's great here, huh! You love it, huh!" 

"Yeah! This is my favorite place in the Underground!" 

"Yeah! Me too! It's my Big Favorite." Onionsan said. Awkward silence quickly filled the room as I continued to walk. The only noise produced from my footsteps and the swaying water. Onionsan continued to follow me until they sank below the water, but somehow they're voice still came out. Gurgled, but easy enough to understand. 

"Even though, the water's getting so shallow here... I, have to sit down all the time, but... He-hey! That's okay! It beats moving to the city! And living in a crowded aquarium! Like all my friends did!"

I smiled at them again, unsure of what to say. Flowey looked up at them and said in a disgusted voice, "Ugh, why are you so awkward?" 

"Hey, be nice!" I growled under my breath.

"And the aquarium's full, a-anyway, so, even if I wanted to, I..." Onionsan paused, still talking as though they forgot we were there. "That's okay though, y'hear! Undyne's gonna fix everything, y'hear!" 

"Uhh..." I said, nerves setting in. 

"I'm gonna get out of here and live in the ocean, y'hear!" Onionsan said as I reached the end of the room. They used one of their tentacles to point at the doorway. "Hey... there... That's the end of this room. I'll see you around! Have a good time! In waterfalllllllllllll!" Onionsan disappeared back into the water, and didn't come back up. Flowey groaned with relief. "Woo, thank God, that's over. Do you have to make friends with everyone you meet?"

"Yes." I said with a smile.

"Ugh, we're doomed." 

We moved forward towards the room where Shyren appeared in game, but I looked around, not seeing her nearby. I pouted slightly, disappointed that I couldn’t sing with her. I shrugged it off, moving forward so that I didn't waste any more time. Not knowing how much time we had was starting to get to me. 

I found myself in the hallway with the statue that played the music box. Rain poured onto it sadly. I gasped in excitement, then sprinted into the next room and grabbed an umbrella from the bucket. I ran back into the room as Flowey asked, "Uh, did the rain confuse your sense of direction?"

"Nope!" I smiled as I opened the umbrella, placing it over the statue. ‘Memory’ began to play from it instantly. I stepped back, smiling at the statue as the music box played gently. My nerves began to relax until Flowey ruined it saying, "Umm, hey! We've got a timeline to fix here!" 

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry! I like that tune, okay?"

"Yeah, it's great, now move your ass!" 

I shot Flowey a wide eyed angry face. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me! Move your ass!" 

"Fucking fight me, Flowey!" 

"I'll string your guts up like Christmas lights!" Flowey said, his face turning creepy. 

"As soon as we fix the timeline I'm gonna chop you up, make golden flower tea out of you and DRINK YOU." I said as we went on into the next room, grabbing another umbrella from the bucket. I opened it and stepped forward to find Monster Kid in an alcove to my left. 

"Yo! You say some weird stuff to your echo flower! But you're still cool! Can I walk with you under the umbrella?" He said as he ran out from the alcove, beaming up at me. I glared down at Flowey who returned it with a derpy, shit eating grin. 

"Sure, go ahead..." I said, turning back to Monster Kid.

"Sure, go ahead..." Flowey mimicked.

"Let's go!" Monster Kid said, and we continued forward. Monster Kid began talking about Undyne, saying the same stuff he said in game, but I began to tune him out. I started worrying about how much time we were wasting, worrying about Gaster's door, and wondering what Sans was up to. Before I knew it we were out in the vast, open area with the view of the castle. Monster Kid darted ahead of me to stare out at it. I slowed down briefly to take in the view, but I didn't stop. Flowey started whispering to me, "Your blood flow is acting crazy! What's up with you?"

"Oh, I guess I'm kind of stressing slightly. It's no big deal."

"Just don't go passing out or anything. We need you to fix this endless hell."

"And here I thought you were genuinely concerned for me."

"Nah, you're just useless if you can't move."

"I'll make you love me, Flowey."

He rolled his eyes. "I CAN'T love you, remember?"

"We're gonna be besties~!" I sang. He sighed as Monster Kid ran back up to us and we continued on into the next room with the umbrella drop off. I put the umbrella up as Monster Kid ran up to the steep ledge at the end of the room.

"Yo, this ledge is way too steep! And you're too big to climb on my shoulders..." Monster Kid looked back at me apologetically. I gave him a smile. 

"Oh, it's cool. I can get up there on my own."

I requipped into my Fanalis armor and jumped on top of the ledge easily. Monster Kid beamed up at me again, gasping as I leaned down to offer him a hand. 

"You go on ahead! Don’t worry about me. I always find a way to get through!" Monster Kid quickly turned heel and ran back from the direction we came. I stood back up, reverting back into my regular clothes, then turned onward. The next room, however, led to the bridge above the trash dump. Before I even had time to react, Undyne appeared beneath us, and spears shot up from the floor. 

"Brandi, run!!" Flowey screamed, and I bolted. Spears continued to shot up around me as I decided I didn't feel like wasting any more time than I had to with her. I knew my Hydrabell armor would just take me back somewhere I had already been, but I hadn't tried teleporting with my Megalovania armor. 

"Requip!" I screamed, and changed into Sans's clothes. I used my magic to glow my left eye, and tried to teleport. My whole body began to vibrate, like my skeleton would rip out of my body. Flowey and I were both screaming, but this crackling sound muffled us to the point where I could barely hear it, like a rift ripping open. Suddenly, Flowey and I fell onto the ground, but it wasn't the bridge. I let out heavy breaths of air as I looked around, trying to figure out where in the Underground we had ended up until I heard a familiar, whimsical voice moan, ".......ohhhh......" 

Napstablook floated beside me, his headphones placed on his cute little head, and a confused expression on his face.

"Oh, Napstablook! How are you?" I asked from my horizontal position on the ground.

"oh, i'm fine... this is awkward... i'm actually working right now..."

"Oh, sorry to _drop_ in unexpectedly..." I winked, unable to control the escaping pun. I suddenly felt existential dread setting in from my requip, so I quickly reverted back and stood up. God, how did he live like that everyday?

"that's alright... welcome to blook family snail farm... yeah, i'm the only employee... this place used to get a lot of business... but our main customer disappeared one day... now it's just some hairy guy that shows up once a month..."

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that..." I said, unsure of what else I should say. "Say, you, uh... you're neighbors with Undyne, right?"

"ooooooh, yeah... i don't talk to her much though... she kind of scares me..."

"Me too, Blooky. I'm actually on the run from her right now..." 

"oh... are you in some kind of trouble?"

"We will be if I run out of time..."

"You gonna tell him your whole life story?" Flowey asked, urging me to leave.

"Oh, shut up." I snapped, then turned back to Napstablook. "Sorry, Blooky. I'd hang out longer, but I really have to go. Undyne's after me, and I've got a timeline to save." 

"oooh, okay... feel free to come back by later... you don't have to if you don't want to... no pressure..." 

"I most definitely will! Later, Blooky!" I waved as I started running, trying to make sure I stayed ahead of Undyne. Hotland was getting close. I wasn't sure how I managed to teleport in Sans's requip, but I knew trying to use it to go to a specific location wouldn't work. I had no idea where I was going to end up the last time. I was lucky it was somewhere safe. 

We ran past Gerson's shop, and headed into the room with the lighted mushrooms. Just before we reached the end of the room a Temmie appeared. I gasped as our surroundings flashed into black and white, and my soul appeared.

"Oh, God, no!" Flowey said in horror.

"It's Temmie!" I cried out in excitement.

"hOI!! i'm tEMMIE!!" Temmie said as she stared straight forward, and began to vibrate intensely. 

"You wanna pet me, Temmie!?" I asked.

"Did you just ask it to pet you!?" Flowey asked in disbelief.

"OMG!! humans TOO CUTE!! (dies)!" Temmie said, then rolled over on the ground on her back.

"It literally just said "dies" out loud." Flowey said. 

"Sooo cute!" I smiled as I watched the odd little creature.

Temmie rolled back onto her feet and began to vibrate intensely again. The intensity built up so much that she vibrated straight out of the battle, and the color came back and my soul disappeared. 

Flowey and I both watched, dumbfounded until Flowey asked me, "Please tell me we're skipping Temmie Village?..."

I snorted a laugh. "As much as I'd like to spite you... Yes..." 

We then went on through the room with the lanterns, thankfully not running into anyone along the way, until we reached a dark corridor. I put my hands out in front of me, thinking about making a requip that could see in the dark, as I shuffled down. A voice suddenly whispered, "Behind you..." just before I bumped into a wall.

"Oww! Fuck!" I said as I grabbed my nose.

"Watch where you're walking!! You'll hurt us both--"

Loud footsteps echoed behind us, cutting Flowey off. I groaned as I turned around, "Ah, shit..."

"Ah, shit..." Flowey repeated as he laid his eyes on Undyne behind us. She glared at us through her helmet, stepping towards us slowly.

"Seven. Seven human souls... With the power of seven human souls, our king, King ASGORE Dreemurr... will become a god. With that power, Asgore can finally shatter the barrier. He will finally take the surface back from humanity..." Undyne paused briefly, and I took the opportunity to chime in, "Hey, Undyne, listen... I don't--" 

"NGGAAAAH!!!" She screamed.

"AHHHHH!!!" Flowey and I screamed together.

"Don't interrupt my monologue!!" 

"I'm sorry! Your monologue is bad ass, but you have to listen to me!! We don't have much time!!" 

"Give up your soul, or I'll tear it from your body!" 

"Undyne, please, listen! I don't want to fight you!" 

Undyne pulled an energy spear out, and gripped it, slowly moving towards Flowey and me. I backed against the wall as hard as I could when Flowey said, "Well, hey, if she kills you, you'll just reload to your last save file, right?"

"Huh!?" I asked, watching Undyne.

"You know... the save files? The save points?... You _have_ been saving, haven't you?"

"No! Now that you mention it... I haven't seen any save points!!" 

" _WHAT_!?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the story in here about how I accidentally discovered Undertail is one hundred percent true. It's pretty funny when I think about it. How does one accidentally discover sin?
> 
> I'm sure the Sans ship is turning readers away, but I couldn't not (double negative?) put it in there. I knew I'd ship myself with a guy, and honestly, my crush on Sans is part of my depression. Having a crush on someone who doesn't exist can be disheartening, to say the least. But I won't bore you with those details if you don't want to hear. Really, I covered all the stages of my developing crush as the story goes along. 
> 
> We're getting closer and closer to the climax! The second half of the story is my favorite, and I can't wait to share it with you guys! <3


	6. Take 'Em By Storm!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We don't fight Undyne. Then we do. And then we don't.

Undyne charged at us full force, only stopping when Monster Kid jumped out of the bushes yelling, "Undyne!!! I'll help you fight!!!" He paused as he looked back and forth between me and Undyne, then turned to me excitedly. "YO!!! You did it!!! Undyne is RIGHT in front of you!!! Now you can ask her to join the Royal Guard!!" 

"Join the... What!? HER!?" Undyne growled from under her helmet. I sighed, kneeling down to Monster Kid's height and said, "Listen, kid... I appreciate you, but I don't want to join the Royal Guard..."

"Wh... what?" He asked, his expression sinking. Before I could respond, Undyne reached over and grabbed Monster Kid by the ear, then began to drag him off. Well, maybe it was the side of his face? I'm still not sure. "H-hey!! You aren't gonna tell my parents about this, are you!?"

I let out a sigh of relief as the echo flower next to me repeated what Monster Kid had just said. Flowey looked up at me and asked, "So, you want to tell me why you're a liar?"

" _Excuse_ me?”

"You told me back when we first met that you could reset! Yet you haven't seen any save points... So I'm calling you a liar!" 

"Eh, okay... It wasn't a _total_ lie... I _can_ reset, but only if I'm in Frisk's requip." 

"You have a... _Frisk_ requip?" Flowey asked grudgingly.

"Yeah!" 

" _Why_?..."

"It's how I reset Fairy Tail's timeline. It was the only time I ever used it."

"So, why did you act like it was naturally your power?"

I shrugged. "Well, I didn't know if I could trust you at first or not. I was playing it safe. And like I said... _Technically_ , I can reset, but..." Natsu and the others flashed through my mind. "I swore I'd never use it after that time, and I don't plan to use it now."

"So... since you can't save or reset unless you're in your..." He rolled his eyes, " _Frisk_ requip... That means that if we die... We're dead for real this time?"

I nodded. "Yeah. See now why I don't really want to fight Undyne?" 

"Hey, at least if you die I won't have to listen to you anymore."

"At least you're looking at the bright side." I said sarcastically. I backtracked until we reached the lit path to the right, and headed through another room of blabbering echo flowers. I only caught whispers of them talking about wishes. I chuckled to myself as I gazed up at the yellow sparkles floating around. They looked just like save points, but they weren't. I never did figure out what they were.

We turned the corner and headed out onto another bridge. I crossed it without hesitation as I waited for Monster Kid to run up behind me. I heard his feet stomping as he ran up behind me, and stopped when he called out, "Yo!" 

I turned to face him. "Hey, Kid. You managed to escape Undyne, huh? Guess I should take lessons from you."

"Yo, I know I'm not supposed to be here, but..."

"I guess Undyne told you, huh?" I paused as Monster Kid looked down at the ground with heavy eyes. "Yeah, it's true. I'm a human."

"Man, I knew it!... Well, I know it now, I mean... Undyne told me, um, ‘Stay away from that human.’ So, like, umm... I guess that makes us enemies, or something... But I kinda stink at that..." He laughed awkwardly.

"Me too, bud..." I said with a smile. 

"Bull shit, you're mean to me all the time." Flowey mumbled under his breath.

"Yo, say something mean so I can hate you? Please?" Monster Kid asked. 

"No way." I said apologetically. 

"Yo, what? So I have to do it?..." He sighed. "Here goes nothing..." He paused, then took a deep breath. "Yo, I... I hate your guts..." He paused again and looked up at me. I gave him a small smile. "Man, I... I'm such a turd. I'm... I'm gonna go home now." I watched him as he took a few steps backwards, then turned heel and sprinted off. However, like in game, he fell off of the bridge and screamed, "Yo, w-wait! Help! I tripped!" 

Undyne appeared at the end of the bridge just as I moved to help Monster Kid. I sprinted as fast as I could, skidding to a stop as I landed on the ground, grabbing him around the waist. I pulled him up on the bridge as Undyne stood and watched. I knew it wouldn't be enough to woe her over, but I hoped it would help my case when she came to fight me. 

"You've got to be more careful, little dude!" I said as I stood up. Monster Kid stood up with me, smiling up at me in awe. He then turned to Undyne and said firmly, "Yo! If you want to hurt my friend... You're gonna have to get through me, first!" 

Undyne stood still for a moment, but then slowly backed away and left. "She's gone..." Monster Kid said as he watched her.

"You sure are brave!" I said.

"Yo, you really saved my skin. Guess being enemies was just a nice thought." He laughed.

"I don't know about it being nice, but... We'll just have to be friends instead."

"Yeah!" He said excitedly, but then looked over his shoulder. "Man, I should REALLY go home... I bet my parents are worried sick about me!" 

"I'll bet they are! Get back safe!" I called after Monster Kid as he sprinted away again.

"Later, dude!" He called out as he disappeared from sight.

I let out a sigh of relief as Flowey said, "You're disgusting to watch. Are all humans like this nowadays?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You know, befriending every creature they meet."

"Oh, God, no." I scoffed. "I don't do this in my world. I hate talking to people."

"Wha-- You!? Then why are we talking to almost everybody we run into here!?"

"Well, you guys aren't really strangers. I already know and love all of you..." I smiled. "Even you, Flowey!" 

"Ugh, God. Let's go before you make me throw up." 

I laughed. "Alright, fine. Say, what _do_ flowers throw up?"

"It's a figure of speech, now GO!" 

"Fine, chill!" 

We headed down the bridge and made our way to Undyne's Arena. I looked up to see her standing at the top of the small mountain. She stared out at Hotland, her helmet already removed, and her red ponytail flapping in the howling wind.

"Teleport?" Flowey asked.

"Nope." I said simply.

"Seven." Undyne said as she slowly turned to face us.

"Huh!?" Flowey asked.

"I'm not running from her anymore."

"What, you gonna flirt your way out of this one?" 

"No, I'm not Frisk..." I smiled. "I'm gonna fight her!" 

"You're wha--"

"Seven human souls, and King Asgore will become a god. Six. That's how many we have collected thus far. Understand? Through your seventh and final human soul, this world will be transformed. First,   
however, as it is customary for those who make it this far... I shall tell you the tragic tale of our people..." Undyne said, her voice calm, and full of valor as she spoke. 

"Hey, I've got a better idea!" I yelled up to her. Her eye twitched as she glared down at me, her sharp teeth slightly poking out from her lips like a growling dog. "FIGHT ME!!" I screamed.

"You tired of running away!? Well, you know what!?! Screw it! Since you're asking for it, I accept! You're standing in the way of everybody's hopes and dreams! Alphys's history books made me think humans were cool... with their giant robots and flowery swordswomen. But YOU!? You're just a coward! Hiding behind that kid so you could run away from me again! And you have all that magic power, but you choose to use it to run away!"

"I know that you don't get it, but I'm trying to save everyone! Undyne, you have to listen to me!" 

"Enough talking, human! Let's end this right here, right now!!" 

"Look, I'll fight you, but you've gotta hear me out!" 

"I'll show you how determined monsters can be! Step forward when you're ready! Fuhuhuhu!" 

"Alright, then! You asked for it! REQUIP!" 

I quickly requipped into my Calamity God armor, and Flowey groaned, "Ah, great. Time to smell like sweat again." Only one thing to do before the fight. I couldn't use the the requip unless someone paid me to do something for them. 

"Hey, ask me fight Undyne for you."

"Ugh, okay... Fight Undyne for me."

"Alright. That'll be five G."

"Huh!?"

"You can pay me later!" I said as I ran forward as Undyne jumped down simultaneously. She cried out, "That's it, then... No more running away. HERE I COME!!" 

Everything flashed into black and white, and my soul appeared again. Undyne began the fight by swiping her spear at me, and my soul turned from pink to green. I stared down at it as she cried out, "En guarde!" 

"Uh..." I said, gripping my dual swords.

"As long as you're green, you CAN'T ESCAPE! Unless you learn to face danger head on... You won't last a SECOND against ME!" 

"Bring it on, Undyne! I was trained by Erza Scarlet! If I can dodge her swords, I can dodge ANYTHING!!" I said with confidence. It quickly faded, however, as Undyne flashed a menacing smile. She shot three spears at me, all coming from the front. I deflected them easily with my swords. 

"Look, Undyne, I really don't have time to fight you!" 

"Too bad! How about THIS!?"

She shot two spears from the front, then two from the left, and two from the right. I deflected them all without getting hit, but barely. 

"For years we've dreamed of a happy ending..." Undyne said, then shot more spears at me. I managed to block them, but I couldn't keep up with the directions. Flowey started audibly making freak out noises as he said, "Brandi, get us out of here!!" 

"C'mon, Undyne! Your attacks are too easy! Give me a challenge!!" I said, my fighting spirit finally coming out for the first time in a year. Flowey gasped at my response as Undyne hurled more spears at me. She wasted no time in making blocking more difficult. "And now, sunlight is just within our reach!" She cried out just as I missed a spear. It hit me right in the chest, and the zap from it hurt just like Laxus's lightning. 

"You IDIOT! Don't challenge her!" Flowey yelled.

"I won't let you snatch it away from us!" Undyne said.

"I'm still gonna spare you!" I cried out, recovering from the pain. She growled as she slung more spears at us, and screamed, "NGAHHH! Enough warming up!" 

She swiped the spear in her hand at me, and my heart turned pink. I used the opportunity to requip into my Fanalis armor, hoping I'd be faster than her in it, and jumped right over Undyne and sprinted through the doorway. The color flashed back around me as Undyne yelled, "Wh-- HEY!" 

"I thought you were gonna fight her! YOU DON'T MAKE ANY SENSE!" Flowey screamed over the passing wind.

"I have a plan! Just shut up!" I screamed as I ran. Undyne's footsteps echoed behind me. She screamed, "Come back here and FIGHT ME!!" 

"No, thank you!" I called out.

"Alphys told me that humans were determined... I see now what she meant by that! But I'm determined too!" Undyne cried out just before she leapt over me, slamming down into the ground. I skidded to a stop, as she suplexed a boulder, slamming it into the ground behind her. 

"Holy SHIT!!! Where did you even get that!?" I asked. 

Undyne kicked the boulder from the path as she said, "STOP RUNNING AWAY!!" 

Undyne swiped her spear at me and our surroundings flashed into black and white again. My soul immediately popped up green this time. She fired more spears at me, this time the yellow ones. I hated the damn yellow spears because they came from the opposite direction they shot at you. I grunted as I requipped back into my Calamity God armor, using the swords to deflect the spears. After the attack, Undyne drew her finger across her neck and said, "I'm determined to end this right now! RIGHT NOW!" 

"Too bad because I'm sparing you!" I cried out. Undyne growled as she began firing more spears at me, and said, "RIGHT... NOW!!" I continued to block them, only getting hit by a few. I could feel my HP dropping, but I knew I was close to getting out of this mess. After she finished her attack, I smiled at her. 

"Sorry, Undyne, but you're gonna have to try a little harder than that!!" 

"NGGGAAHH!! Just DIE ALREADY!!" 

She swiped her spear at me, and my heart turned pink again. I used the opportunity to requip back into my Fanalis armor, then dodge rolled around her. Flowey smacked his head on the ground in the process, and I had to hold back my laughter. I ran as she growled behind me until I made it to the flashing red sign that read, "Welcome to Hotland." Then, my phone began to ring, and I stopped to answer it. 

"Wha-- Are you serious!? Right now!?" Flowey asked in awe.

"Right now! Hello!?" I asked as I panted.

"HEY! WHAT'S UP!?" Papyrus's voice merrily hopped through the phone. 

"Oh, you know, just _running_ around Hotland..."

"WHY DO I HAVE THIS NAGGING FEELING THAT YOU JUST SAID A PUN?"

"Never mind that. What's up, Pap? I'm... in a hurry..."

"I WAS JUST THINKING... YOU, ME, AND UNDYNE SHOULD ALL HANG OUT SOMETIME! I THINK YOU WOULD MAKE GREAT PALS!" I looked over my shoulder at Undyne who waited behind me as I spoke on the phone. She looked like she was ready to rip me in half.

"Oh, yeah?"

"LET'S MEET UP AT HER HOUSE LATER!" 

"Uhh... I don't know--"

"I CAN EVEN INVITE MY BROTHER IF YOU'D LIKE!" 

"Wait, what!?" 

His sudden change in dialogue caught me off guard, and flustered me. Flowey looked up at me again, but this time, he had a smirk on his face. I tried to ignore him as Papyrus said, "AUDIBLE WINK!" He then hung up the phone, and Undyne immediately began chasing us again. I booked it as Flowey started laughing. 

"WHAT!?" I asked, irritated.

"I get it now! It's Smiley Trashbag!" 

"What about him?!" I said defensively.

"Your heartbeat was different when Papyrus mentioned him. Golly, you have a _crush_ on him!!" 

"No, I don't!" I practically screamed.

"You're lying... I can tell from your heart rate!" 

"Just shut up!" 

"STOP RUNNING AWAY!!" Undyne screamed behind us. 

"That's why you insisted on staying at Grillby's after he left! And then you kept cracking jokes about a date with him! Oh, it all makes sense now!" He laughed. "Well, good luck with that. That guy's almost as dead inside as I am."

"Flowey, you can tease me later, but stop for now!" 

"So you're admitting it!?"

"Okay, fine! I might, slightly, maybe have some kind of--" I stopped dead just as we finished passing into the entrance of Hotland and found Sans fast asleep at his sentry station, sunken into his seat comfortably. Undyne and I both stopped simultaneously to stare at him. Flowey started laughing, and I sighed, the irritation apparent in my voice. "You know what? Never mind."

Undyne growled, then stomped her feet. I turned to her, balling my fists and ready to fight. Now that we had arrived in Hotland I knew I'd get the upper hand on her because of her armor. 

"Alright, since Sans is useless, it's time for plan T!" 

"Oh, God, what's plan T?" Flowey asked.

"Take 'em by storm!" 

"Wasn't that plan A!? Ugh, whatever!!" 

Undyne pulled out her spear, pointing it at me. "This is the last time I'm letting you escape!”

"Fine by me! I'm not running away anymore! Not until you hear me out!" 

Our surroundings flashed into black and white again. Undyne wasted no time and shot spears at me. Since my heart was still pink, I used my Fanalis armor to dodge the spears instead of block them. If it hadn't been for the impending doom on her face, it would've been like dancing. 

"Undyne, if you let me go, I'll get you all out of the Underground! You have to believe me!" 

"You won't trick me, human! I'm taking your soul and fixing this NOW!" 

"I'm not the seventh human soul! No one has to die! I have to find the person that set you all free!" 

"What are you talking about!?"

"I'm talking about Frisk! They're the one who freed you all! Not me!!" 

"What's Frisk got to do with--"

Undyne stopped in the middle of her sentence, dropping her spear. It evaporated into the air as her expression changed from confusion to anger. 

"Her too..." I whispered to Flowey.

"They _do_ remember Frisk, but... something's blocking it." He said.

"Who the hell is Frisk!?!" Undyne asked. She growled again as her spear appeared in her hand, then several more appeared around her. She asked again, "Who... the hell... IS FRISK!?!"

I growled back at her this time, fed up with the energy spears and her bad attitude. "Alright, that's it! If you won't listen to me, then I'll MAKE YOU!! This new requip is something really special... It belongs to my mentor, Erza Scarlet... It was the armor she used to train me, and the first armor I saw her requip into..." I paused as I extended my arms. Flowey shook on my arm, looking at me with concern. "Get ready... REQUIP!" I screamed. I requipped into Erza's Heaven's Wheel armor. I could feel the coolness of the metal armor pieces as they formed onto my hot skin. A ring of swords appeared and spun around behind me. Undyne stopped her attack to stare at me in awe.

"What the heck!?" Flowey asked as he looked up at the metal wings protruding from my back. 

"It... it's just like in Alphys's history books..." Undyne said, a smiled spreading across her face. "I knew it! They're all true!!!" 

"Now that I've got your attention, will you listen to me!? I came here from another world to find someone missing here…” 

"You're... from another world?"

“Shocking, I know, I'm on a time limit, and you're hindering me from saving all of monster kind, and the little kid who's missing..."

Undyne spat. “Yeah, right. I'll bet you fell in through Mt. Ebott."

"I know it's a lot to take in right now, but there's a whole multiverse out there, and I quite literally fell into your world to help all of you."

“I bet your some mage that fell down here to wipe us all out. Well, the jokes on you! Now we’ll use your soul to get out here and finally take back the sun!”

I shook my head. "Trust me, this isn't the first time this has happened to me... Last, I travelled to Fiore, and that's where I learned magic." I dropped the swords in my hands and reverted. All the running around started to get to me. My eyelids felt heavy, but I continued, "While I was there to help... I accidently got Erza, my teacher, but… Also my friend. I got her killed. I used magic to reset everything, and I left that world... Now, Erza's alive, but she doesn't even remember who I am..." I paused as I started to tear up. "Not her, or Natsu, or Lucy, or Gray... Not even Happy or anyone else from my guild... They all forgot me like I never existed... And now, all I have left of them are memories only I have, a few photos, and my guild symbol..." 

I couldn't hold back the tears anymore. They fell down my cheeks and I stared at the ground, trying to not look Undyne in the eye. "You can't understand how this feels... I don't want to go through that again... I swore I'd never go to another world, yet here I am! I can't, no... I WON'T go through that again! I'll save all of you! I'll fix this timeline, and get you all your happy ending, even if it kills me!!" 

I fell down on my knees and began sobbing. I covered my face, so I couldn't see anything. I felt Flowey shifting on my arm as he whispered, "Whoa..." Then, I heard Undyne's footsteps. She approached me, and I braced myself for spears. 

"Geez, quit crying, and get up." I heard her voice right above me, then felt her firm grip on my shoulders. She pulled me up to my feet and patted me roughly as Flowey whined, "I'm getting light headed here!" 

"Why are you crying!?" Undyne demanded.

"Ugh, I... I guess I haven't talked about it to anyone really..."

"Look, you've got some kick ass magic, and you've sure as hell got determination! I can hear it in your voice! Even when you're crying." 

"Uhh?" I said, unsure of where this was going.

"I don't really understand what happened to you and your guild, but I'm sorry your friends don't remember you... Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could take your soul...Not now."

"You're... Not going to?"

"Yeah, it sucks... But I can tell that you're being sincere... It sounds stupid. At first, I thought you were just a coward because you kept running from me, but now... After hearing you talk about your mentor... I feel like I can relate."

"You mean Asgore, right?"

Undyne looked surprised, but she smiled. "Right! He's a wimpy loser like you, too. He wouldn't hurt anybody either... But I can tell you've trained.” She poked my wrist shoulder. “Your shoulder looks sloppy when you swing, and I can tell your left wrist is weak.”

Well, damn.

“But you watch your opponents closely, and your dodging is pretty good. You work on your form, though. Jerky movements will lock up your body, got it?!”

“Got it…” I thought of Erza. She'd told me similar things as well during our training. “I'd love to spar with you for fun, but I don't want to hurt you for real, Undyne." 

"Fuhuhu! Like _you_ could hurt _me_!" 

I laughed, "Is that a challenge?!"

"It is NOW! It's a rematch!" 

"You're on!" 

"Fuhuhu! So, for now, how can I help you find the kid?" Undyne asked.

"I don't know if I should get you involved..." 

"Well, you've already told her this much. Why don't you let her help? It's the least she could do after she tried to kill you." Flowey shrugged.

"Well, I don't know if--" I looked over at Sans's sentry station as I began my sentence to find that he was no longer there. I instantly became enraged. "Ugh!! Where is that bastard, Sans!?" 

Undyne turned around, and upon seeing that Sans was gone, became enraged as well. "What!? I was gonna give him an ass kicking for falling asleep on the job! He was _supposed_ to help me capture you!!" 

Undyne and I both growled in frustration simultaneously. Flowey shrugged again and said, "Join the club, ladies. I've hated Trashbag from the beginning." 

Undyne focused back on me, poking me in the chest. “Now look here. You're a fighter, but that doesn't mean we're best pals!” She stepped closer, grabbing my cardigan. “Because if you even so much as _look_ at a monster wrong, I'll take your soul to Asgore!!” 

“Yes, ma'am!” I held up my hands, hoping she'd release me. 

“That's why I'm coming with you!”

“What--?!”

Undyne lifted me up, tucking me under her arm. 

“So! Where are we going?!”

“I can walk, ya’ know!”

“Fat chance! I've got you now, and there's no escape!!”

A buzz made her stop, and she grunted. She proceeded to throw me over her shoulder, my stomach slamming into the metal pad on it. I let out a _oomph!_ as she pulled her cell phone from inside her armor, my ass directly by her head, and my legs kicking. The entrance of Hotland laid before me, the neon sign flashing in the distance. 

“What is it, punk?! I'm busy!!”

I only wondered for a millisecond who it was before his booming voice filtered through the speaker. 

“UNDYNE, YOU SHOULD COME TO YOUR HOUSE!!”

Though I couldn't see her face, there was suspicion in her coarse voice. “... _Why_?”

“ _WHY_?” Papyrus gawked, “TO HANG OUT WITH MY COOL, NEW FRIEND, OF COARSE!!”

“You mean the one I've got thrown over my shoulder?!”

“YOU THREW HER?!”

“No! Ugh, never mind! Get to Hotland ASAP!”

“ _WHY_??”

“ _Why_?! Because I ordered you, and I'm in charge! We've got a mystery to solve, and your brother disappeard again!”

“RIGHTO!” Click. 

Undyne put her phone away as Flowey asked, “We just gonna let this happen?”

I shrugged. “She's not trying to kill us anymore. I'm calling it a win.”

A quick _blip_ silenced us, and Undyne growled. I heard Sans chuckle before he asked, “sup?”

“ _You_.” Her tone sliced through me even though it was directed at Sans. 

“hey, can i _ass_ you a question?”

_He did not just--_

“I should be asking you!! Why'd you fall asleep and run off like that?!”

“can you _not_ bring papyrus here?”

Undyne blinked, staring in disbelief. At least, that's what I imagined since I couldn't see her face. Flowey and I exchanged a glance as she asked, “Why not?”

“just do a guy a favor, huh?”

“You know something, don't you?”

“maybe i do, but--”

“Look, _shrimp_.” Undyne growled, stepping closer to Sans. I reflexively curled my toes inside my boots at the tension. “Something weird is going on here, and I know it has to do with this chick,” She bounced me on her shoulder. “And that missing kid.”

Sans hesitated before repeating, “the missing kid, huh?”

“I don’t know who they are, but… Look, I can tell something’s not right, alright? Something just doesn’t _feel_ right. Like… Something’s out of place?” She sounded frustrated at her own words. “Hell, I don’t know.” 

“ _tibia_ honest, we don’t know what’s going on either. we’ve just got a hunch is all. but i don’t want papyrus involved.”

My world spun as I was placed firmly on the ground, Flowey’s vine squished into my arm. Undyne pointed at me warningly before running her finger across her throat threateningly, silently telling me to stay put. I obliged. 

“Why not let Papyrus help?”

“because…” Sans began, trailing off. “it’s complicated."

“Yeah, like everything else involving _you_.” She scoffed. “Just let him help out. It won’t kill either one of you.”

“that’s what you think…” Sans said under his breath. 

“Umm, hey.” I stepped between them, stepping back again as Undyne glared at me. I held up my hands defensively, showing I meant no harm. “I don’t want to take sides here because, really, who am I to have an opinion? I’ve known Papyrus for, what, a few hours now?” 

The two of them looked at me like I didn’t belong there. Probably because I didn’t. I kept going anyway, unable to stop myself. “We don’t have to tell him what’s going on. We can just let him come along.”

Undyne smiled. “I like your moxie.” She nodded at Sans. “See? Even the human thinks treating your brother like a baby is a bad idea. Let’s just include him, alright?”

Sans looked between the two of us before shrugging, turning away. “sure. what do i know?”

I felt remorse the second he said it, his crestfallen face crumbling me. I know I didn’t know Sans personally. Not very well at least. But I wasn’t used to seeing him so broken. He kept trying to cover it up, but…

I think he had really been on the verge of completely giving up. 

“So! Where’re we going?” Undyne’s chipper voice broke me from my daze. 

“Oh, uh. I wanted to go Alphys’s lab to get her opinion on some things.” I said, biting my lip. 

“Cool! That’s just up ahead!” She grabbed me, throwing me over her shoulder again. I sighed in defeat, thinking that I’d gotten away from becoming a sack of potatoes for her to tote around. 

When I opened my eyes Sans stood directly in front of me. I screamed and jumped in place, grabbing my chest. "Sans, holy shit!!" 

"Dammit, Trashbag!" Flowey yelled.

"sup?" Sans asked. 

"Don't "sup" me! You were asleep when I needed your help, and then you disappeared!" I huffed, my already chubby cheeks puffed out from being squished against Undyne’s shoulder.

"i was finished with what i needed to do, so i came here to wait for you." He paused as he gave me a wink. "guess i fell asleep."

The wink made me blush, but I tried to ignore it. Flowey snickered at me. Sans raised a brow at Flowey and asked, "did i miss the punchline?"

"No! You missed nothing!" I said quickly. I called over my shoulder to Undyne, “Hey, can we wait for Papyrus is Alphys’s lab? It’s warmer than a badger’s ass out here!”

“What??” Flowey asked.

“Yeah, he’ll know where to find us. Let’s go, punks!” Undyne called out like the leader she was as she carted me and Flowey along. The sharp edges of the armor poked me in the sides as I bounced in my fixed position, and I then understood where Flowey’s complaints came from.

Sans walked behind us slowly, hands in pockets and gaze fixed on his feet. My heart ached as I watched him. 

_Just a little more, Sans. We’re almost there._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Anniversary Undertale! Can you guys believe it's already been out for two years? Time really does fly.


	7. [REDACTED]

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn a little bit about my friends in Fiore, Mettaton makes his debut, and we find the entrance to the Void.

The cool, chill air tricked me into believing we were in Snowdin again. I watched the automatic door seal shut, still thrown over Undyne’s shoulder. She promptly plopped me down to the side, keeping one firm hand on my shoulder. 

Only then did it occur to me that I had been informally placed under arrest. 

“Hey, Alphys!!” Undyne called out, the slightest twist of a grin on her lips. Her cheeks were tinted slightly red. 

I looked around, only the dim light from the giant computer screen barely lit the room. I could faintly see the shape of the refrigerator, and her desk piled with empty instant noodle bowls, and the beat up figurine of Mew Mew. The screen was split into four segments. One was fixed on me, another fixed on Flowey, and the third was fixed on Sans. The fourth, however, was fixed where I fought Undyne in Waterfall moments before. A Woshua shuffled across the screen, scrubbing in front of itself. 

"Ugh..." Flowey said in disgust. "It smells like instant noodles and BO in here!"

Undyne scoffed. “Shut your trap! Not all of us spit out bee attracting pheromones! Some of us have to shower!”

"At least it has air conditioning. If only my apartment was this cold back home!" I sighed. 

“Don't get too comfortable.” Undyne warned as Sans leaned against the wall. She cut him a look. 

“what?”

“You either! I'll bust you too!”

“sorry, boss lady. i can't resist a _rest_.” 

“You’re pushing your luck today.”

The door to the true lab abruptly slid open, and the lights cut on instantly as Alphys stepped out. She clasped her two clawed hands together, moving them nervously around, our presence unnoticed. 

"sup, doc?" Sans said casually. Alphys jumped at the sudden sound, bringing her back to reality. She began pattering around in place as she moved her hands up on the sides of her head. 

“Hey, Alphys!” Undyne grinned. 

"U-Undyne!!" Alphys whined as she danced around in place. “W-w-what are you doing here??”

She slapped me on the back of my shoulder, the force doubling me over. “Keeping watch over the human!”

“Wait, d-did you guys fight!?”

“Yup! It was _awesome_! Did you watch it?”

Alphys looked distraught. “No! I had to run downstairs! Oh, dammit! I can’t believe I missed it!” 

“Ah, you can just rewind it, right?” 

“I didn’t have it set to record…”

“You didn’t miss anything.” Flowey said. “Just Brandi running around like a dumbass.”

"And I haven't died a single time!" I gave a peace sign as I pinched Flowey’s cheek, causing him to growl at me. 

"guess i can take credit for that." Sans said with a wink.

"Says the guy who took a nap while Undyne tried to kill me." 

"guess i'm just that good at my job, huh?"

"If your job is _sleeping_ , then yeah! You're the best!" 

"well, you know i'm so good at sleeping i can even do it _with my eyes closed_."

I facepalmed myself as I let out a snort. "Okay, I walked into that one. Sans, don't you ever get _tired_ of making puns?" Flowey groaned in distaste, rolling his eyes as Sans gave a small chuckle. 

Alphys eyed Flowey wearily. He took notice immediately and smirked at her menacingly. "Howdy, Alphys..."

"I-I can't b-believe it... Y-you actually brought him with you..." Alphys said nervously, her cute, small voice quivering. 

"Well, yeah! We need his help. I'm surprised you didn't already know that, though..." I turned towards the screen, indicating that I knew she had been watching us. 

"Y-yeah! I mean, I did know, I just..." 

"I know he's an honery little bastard, but once you learn to tune him out, he's not that bad!" 

"I will BITE you!" Flowey hissed.

Sans mosied over to the monitor, watching as Papyrus passed through the screen fixed in Waterfall. The Woshua chased behind him, shouting something. Papyrus yelled something over his shoulder before disappearing from frame.

“Looks like Papyrus is almost here.” Undyne turned to me. “So, what’s the deal? Why are we here?”

"Well, we need Alphys’s expertise to find Frisk.”

Undyne shuddered. “Every time you say that name it feels _weird_.”

I smirked. “ _Frisk_.”

“ _Don’t_.”

“Well, uh…” Alphys spoke up. “I m-more or less heard everything you guys have talked about..."

"So, then you know what I'm thinking?"

"gaster?" Sans chimed in.

"Yes!" I said, beaming towards him. "Looks like we had the same idea! It's almost like we didn't even split up!" Sans smiled, looking away from me. 

“You guys wanna fill me in?” Undyne asked as the door to the true lab slid open. Papyrus came in, panting, but grinning. 

“GREETINGS, FRIENDS!!” He proudly put his hands on his hips. “WHERE SHALL WE GALAVANT TOGETHER?! WHAT TOP SECRET MISSION ARE WE TO TRANSCRIBE INTO THE SCROLLS OF OUR DESTINIES!?”

“gee, what are you, an epic poem?” Sans chuckled.

“SANS, PLEASE, I’M EXCITED AND YOU’RE RUINING IT!” 

“my bad.”

“Your passion is promising, Papyrus.” Undyne said proudly. “We’re getting caught up to speed, so listen up!” Papyrus gave a salute and Undyne squeezed my shoulder. I was going to be bruised by the end of this day. 

“Tell us everything you know!” She ordered before releasing me with a good shove, knocking me against the wall. 

So, without further ado, I let Papyrus and Undyne in on our top secret mission. Sans was no help, remaining silent the entire time I explained what was going on. Flowey only chimed in to make me look stupid. 

I spared no details, telling them how they were characters in a video game. Undyne didn’t like the idea one bit. Papyrus just seemed confused. Understandably. It was a hard concept to explain. 

“So, like I explained to Flowey, Gaster is like this mystery character that’s in the game, but he’s also not. You can only find him by either a ten percent chance, or completely changing the coding to get to him and unlock his door in Waterfall. 

Sans perked up. "his door?"

"Yeah... he's behind a gray door that appears in Waterfall, but in the game you have to either happen upon it, which is very unlikely, or change the coding to make it appear." I paused as I turned to Sans. 

"Can you do that?"

"sorry, coding isn't really my thing..."

"Then, Alphys, you're our girl!" 

"H-hold on! I- I can change programs and things, but c-coding reality!? How would I even do that??" Alphys asked.

"Well, your universe is based off a video game. There's got to be some way to break through into the ones and zeros, right?"

"True, b-but..." Alphys looked uneasy.

"Well," Flowey sighed, "It's obvious that she can't do it. So _this_ was a complete waste of time."

"too bad the solution is _coded_ in mystery."

“SANS, PLEASE…” Papyrus whined, rubbing his temples. 

“Nah, if anyone can do it, it’s Alphys!” Undyne said. “You know where the door is at?”

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay, Alphys! Let's go there and you can take a look around. Maybe you can figure out something once you see it yourself."

"Even if I figure out how to make the door appear, we don't know the effect this could have!" She went to her desk, knocking some empty noodle cups on the floor, which Papyrus responded to in a cringe. He went to the floor, cleaning them up as Alphys began scrubbing diagrams on notepad with stains on the page. 

“Ripping a hole open into our reality could cause something like a black hole! It could suck in everything until there's nothing left!”

“THAT SOUNDS TERRIBLE!!” Papyrus said, still bent over as he cleaned. “NOW WHERE'S THE BLACK HOLE YOU KEEP YOUR TRASH IN? AND BY THAT, I MEAN THE TRASHCAN.”

Alphys continued, ignoring Papyrus. “We don't even know what catastrophic thing would lie beyond an opening like that! It w-would be insane! It would b-be dangerous! It would be…” she paused, a small  
smile curling her lips. “L-like an anime!”

“NOW we’re talkin’!” Undyne cheered. 

Alphys shook her head. “There will be precautions we have to take. We can't risk destroying the timeline trying to save it.” 

“glad you think so.” Sans mumbled. “what do we possibly have to lose?”

Alphys fumbled with her doodles. "I... I guess you're right, but there's still something I don't understand. This... Frisk person... A-Are you sure that's where they are?"

Hell, I had no idea. For all I knew I was so off the mark that the real answer would make me realize I was an idiot. But Sans seemed into it. I shrugged. "I'm not sure, but it's the only theory that makes sense. What could have put them there, I still don't know, but it doesn't make sense for them to have just disappeared from the timeline. They've gotta be there."

"Alright... Then I'll do it. Take me there." Alphys got a rare look of confidence as she gathered up the tools she needed. I looked at Undyne.

“Am I allowed to move about freely now? I can use a requip to get us all there faster.” 

She eyed me before giving a slow nod. With that, I requipped back into my Hydrabell armor and threw a portal onto the floor. Since I had already been to Waterfall I could place a portal pretty much anywhere in that area. "Hop through here. It'll take you right to where Gaster should be. You guys go first so I can close the portal."

"ladies first, doc." Sans said.

"I-is it safe?" Alphys asked as she peered into the portal frame. 

"Safe enough to get me away from Undyne.” I nodded at my lawful captor, who gave me a distasteful look at the statement. “You can trust me, Alphys." 

"O-okay..." She said nervously, eyeing the portal. She jumped in, holding her glasses as she disappeared inside. 

After a pause, Sans went to the portal. He turned around, facing the opposite direction and fell backwards into it, closing his eyes as he fell in. 

Papyrus rolled his eye sockets, though I'm still not sure how he pulled it off. “SANS, YOU COULD AT LEAST PUT SOME EFFORT INTO FALLING!!” He gripped as he followed behind his brother, diving like an Olympic swimmer.

Maybe I should’ve warned everyone they were gonna fall straight to the ground. 

Undyne shoved me. “You first.”

“But I have to close the--”

“Look, _human_.” She hissed. “You still haven't earned my trust. Papyrus likes everybody, and Sans is too lazy to care if you're a threat. _I’m_ not so easily impressed.” She pointed at the portal opening. “For all I know, this could lead to some kind of cage. So I'm gonna go last. Got it?”

I fought retorting with a facial expression and nodded. She was smart to treat me like a threat. I couldn't expect her to turn a new leaf for a human just because I shared my sob story with her. 

I jumped in feet first like a swimming pool. The black spatial room in between the dimensions flashed by as I landed on my feet in Waterfall. I suddenly felt a chill as I stretched up to wait for Undyne to jump through so I could close the portal. Sans turned to me as I did and said, "glad you cou--!" 

Alphys quickly gasped, and I looked down to see Sans's eyes were both solid black, and his face flushed blue. Alphys had her face covered, and her face flushed red. Papyrus, however, was fixated at something on the opposite wall. I simultaneously realized that my Hydrabell requip's "quirk" kicked in, and I had lost my shirt. Flowey and I yelled at the same time. I covered myself as Flowey screamed, "What the heck are you doing!? What happened to your freakin' shirt!?"

"Ah! Requip!" I yelled over Flowey, and changed back into my regular clothes. I turned back to face Alphys and Sans, over explaining why that had just happened. "I'm sorry, okay!? I didn't mean to! I can't help it! It's because when I use my Hydrabell armor too much it makes my clothes come off, and I really wish it didn't do that, but it does, and I have no idea why, and it's the worst, and Jesus Christ, I'm so freaking sorry you had to see that!!" I panted after my explanation. 

We all stayed in silence for a moment until Sans said, "no worries, doll... i'm having the _breast_ time."

"Sans, no!" I yelled, his pun making it even more embarrassing. 

"sans, yes." He said with a wink.

“WHAT HAPPENED??” Papyrus asked, stepping up to the rest of us.

“the human likes showing off her goods.” Sans chuckled.

“WHAT KIND OF GOODS?? I HOPE IT’S NOT SWEETS! THEY’RE BAD FOR YOUR TEETH!” 

“I’m not showing off anything on purpose, alright!?” 

"Th-that was certainly unexpected..." Alphys laughed awkwardly as she adjusted her glasses. 

"Yeah, well, I think you're just a perv. Good excuse though." Flowey said. 

“WHERE IS UNDYNE??” Papyrus asked, and my body shook with terror. I had closed the portal before she jumped through because I reverted my requip. 

“Uhh…” I shrugged. “Probably running here to murder me by now. Look, can we just look for the door!?!" 

" _You're_ the one who's supposed to know where it is!" Flowey said.

"It's _supposed_ to appear right here!" I said, pointing at the wall Papyrus had been inspecting.

Alphys looked at the wall as she approached it, pulling out some kind of keyboard from her lab coat. She turned it on, and some kind of green, holographic screen appeared above it, and immediately began to type away at it furiously. 

“AHH! I _KNEW_ THERE WAS SOMETHING SUSPICIOUS ABOUT THIS WALL!” 

“why do ya’ say that, paps?” Sans asked.

Papyrus extended his arms, flabbergasted that it wasn’t obvious. “JUST LOOK AT IT! DOESN’T IT LOOK OUT OF PLACE TO YOU?? IT’S DISCOLORED HERE IN THE CENTER!” 

Sans and I stepped up to the wall, on either side of Alphys. I squinted at it, the bluish glow from the rocks in the walls casting shadows along the walls. 

“It just looks like a freaking wall.” Flowey quipped.

“It’s an impressive wall.” I admitted.

“No it’s not! It looks like all the other walls in this place!” 

“They’re all impressive walls!” 

“You’re just easily impressed.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Your crush on--”

I slammed my hand on Flowey’s mouth, who shot away as quick as I covered it up. “Touch me again, and I’ll bite you!” 

Then, Sans asked with a curious expression, “you got a crush?”

_Goddamn son of a bitch flower._

“He is so full of shit. Don’t listen to him.” I dismissed, trying to be smooth. It wasn’t. 

“HUMAN, YOU SHOULDN’T SAY THINGS LIKE THAT!” He leaned in closely. “AFTER ALL, MONSTERS CANNOT GO TO THE BATHROOM!” 

“Oh!” I blinked. 

Alphys gave a flustered sigh, and I offered, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I- I don't even k-know what I'm doing yet..." Alphys said in a hushed whisper. I thought to myself for a moment if I could use some kind of requip that might work. I got a fun idea for a genius requip quickly, then shrugged. "Let's give it a shot!" 

"What're you doing?" Flowey asked me quickly as his petals wilted backwards like a cat did with its ears. Ignoring him, I said, "Requip! Mad Genius armor!" I immediately hunched over as I did my first requip of L from Death Note. A white, quarter sleeve t-shirt and a pair of baggy blue jeans, but no shoes. I felt exhausted, and had an even stronger craving for coffee than normal. "Ugh," Flowey scoffed. "What're you, a gargoyle?..."

"Shhhhh..." I said slowly, trying to put my finger against Flowey's mouth. He backed away growling, "Seriously, I'm _going_ to bite you one day!" 

"Let me think..." I said in a mono toned voice as I crouched down on the ground. 

Papyrus leaned to Sans. “WHAT IS THE HUMAN DOING?”

"i dunno. let’s ask her.” He chuckled as I stared at the two brothers, who stared back in wonder. “what're you up to, doll?" 

I answered him as I stuck the tip of my index finger in my mouth and my eyes widened. "This requip makes me significantly smarter, which could be beneficial to us... With the help of Doctor Alphys and yourself, I--"

"why are you sittin' like that?" He raised a brow bone.

"It raises my intelligence by forty percent."

“IT CAN NOT BE GOOD FOR YOUR BACK BONES! YOU SHOULD SIT UP STRAIGHT FOR A WHILE!” 

“This is the only way…”

"pfft. petals is right. you look like a gargoyle. you gotta _hunch_ yet?"

“SANS, HAVEN’T YOU HAD ENOUGH TODAY?” Papyrus groaned. 

I stared hard at the wall before I slowly turned my head towards Sans and asked, "Mmm, what?"

"You're creeping me out! Stop!" Flowey said as he squirmed on my arm.

"Oh... It must be the effects of my requip... It appears that this one makes me rather..." I trailed off as I tilted my head towards the wall again slowly. 

"spaced out?" Sans finished my sentence for me. 

"Mmm, yes..." 

"listen, you've done enough for now. why not relax? let alphys take a look."

"But..." I began as Sans moved to sit on the ground next to me. My head hung to the side as I watched him sit. He said, "i've got a question for ya'. can i get normal you back?"

I stared at him for a moment before I slowly replied, "...yes..." I then reverted back into my normal clothes, and let out a sigh of relief as my brain slowed down, but my reaction time went back to normal. "Phew! Man, I'm worn out!" 

"after all the running around, i'll bet. just watching you makes me tired."

"Ugh, thank God..." Flowey began, "Why do your requips make you act and smell so weird?!"

"Hey, don't be rude! I can't help it." I said defensively.

Sans pointed at Flowey. "petals's question is similar to mine. so, you were sayin' that your, uh, top came off earlier because it was a side effect of your magic."

The memory came flooding back, even though it basically had just happened. "Yeah..." I sighed, my cheeks flushing. 

"Oh, you mean when you stripped?" Flowey asked.

" _I_ didn't do it! The shirt came off on its own! The first time it happened it was my boot! I don't choose what comes off!" 

"besides the cause of the peep show, i'm curious. why does your magic do that?"

"Honestly, I'm not really sure, but my theory is this: Where I come from, there is no magic. None at all, right?"

"yeah, you said that."

"When you use magic in my world, it goes berserk almost. I think that it's a way to contain the amount of magic I use. And it doesn't matter what world I'm in. My requips always have these... limitations to them. Even in Fiore where I learned my magic."

"how does the magic go berserk?"

"Well, for example, when my friend, Gray, came to get me from my world to bring me to Fiore... It was snowing outside, but it was way too early in December for snow, and it was way heavier than we'd had since I was a kid. Where I come from it never really snows. Now, Gray uses ice magic, so when he came into my world, his magic energy changed the climate. Does that make sense?"

"that was a pretty _ice_ explanation, yeah." Sans winked.

“THAT’S IT. YOU’RE BANNED FROM ICE PUNS FOR THE REST OF THE MONTH.” Papyrus said sternly. 

“eh, you’ll probably forget you said that.”

“NO I WON’T BECAUSE WE’RE GOING TO FIX THE TIMELINE! RIGHT, HUMAN!?” 

“Right!” I nodded. “So, that's pretty much why I have these weird quirks, I guess."

"huh... that's pretty interesting..." He paused. "listen, i'm sorry about your friends. from your guild, i mean."

"It's been a whole year now since I last saw them.” I started to reflect, all the memories I shared playing like a movie. “I've had time to heal, but I miss them like crazy."

"what's the guild's name again?" 

"Fairy Tail!" I said with a smile.

" _pfft_.” He grinned. “why?"

"Master Mavis, the first master, named it that because no one knows if fairies have tails, or if they even exist." I wiggled my fingers for a fantasy like effect. 

Sans let out a laugh, "oh, _that_ kind of a tail. nice play on words."

"The guild's a lot of fun. They're all insane, and like to beat each other up, but they're good people." 

"they've gotta be if you think so highly of them." 

I pulled my actual phone from my back pocket and opened up the pictures, taking note how low the battery was. If I'd thought about it I wouldn't have let Flowey play all those games on it. I pulled up the picture I had been looking at before I fell into the Underground. "This is them! Well, some of them... The guild is pretty big." I said as I scooted closer to Sans to show him the picture. He leaned over, and our arms touched as he looked at the picture. "hey, there's you." He said.

I laughed nervously, "Heh, yeah! I hate my face in this picture, but I was so happy when we took it that it didn't matter." I paused, taking note of the weight I'd lost since then. I wasn't as toned as I wanted to be, and the stretch marks, of course, never went away, but fighting had become a lot easier. I made a mental note to train harder whenever the timeline was fixed. 

I realized Sans was staring at me, and continued, pointing at Erza. "The one with the gorgeous red hair next to me is Erza. She's the one who taught me my magic."

"and she uses requip magic like you, right?"

"Right! She's powerful, beautiful, and graceful, and can be a stickler for the rules, but can also be a little goofy at times. And she loves sweets." I paused as I pointed at Gray. "Then the guy with his arm around me is Gray. He's the ice wizard I told you about. He can sculpt stuff out of ice and use them as weapons. Ironically, he _actually_ has a stripping problem."

"oh, boy." Sans laughed. "did you learn it from him?"

"Obviously, Erza's too refined to teach me something like that." Sans laughed, heartfelt and warm, and the sound made my heart melt. I stole a glance at Papyrus when I noticed him smiling at us, a big blush on his cheeks. He quickly looked away, pretending he hadn’t been watching us. 

I hesitated, but tried to play it off like I hadn’t noticed. "Gray's a really down to earth guy, but he's not very good at talking to women. Like, at all." I then pointed to Lucy. "This blonde bombshell is Lucy. She's a celestial wizard. She uses these things called gate keys to summon celestial spirits to help her." 

"huh, that's interesting..."

"Lucy's one of the kindest people I've ever met. I actually lived with her while I stayed in Fiore, and she was the best roommate I’ve ever had." I paused as I laughed at Natsu's expression in the picture. "And this pink haired idiot is Natsu. He uses this stuff called dragon slayer magic. He can breath and eat fire because a dragon actually taught him how to use his magic."

"i bet he'd like grillby."

"Yeah, for lunch." I laughed. "Natsu comes off as this big, buff jerk, but he's actually really sweet, and making girls cry really pisses him off. He's all about justice and stuff. I'd bet his soul would be yellow." I paused as I pointed at Happy. "And this little guy is Happy. He looks like a cat, but he's actually called an Exceed. He can talk, and he's almost as annoying as Flowey." 

Sans let out a _pfft_ as Flowey shot me a glare. "Keep laughing, Trashbag!" Flowey sneered. I continued, "Anyways, I'm kidding. Happy's pretty funny, he just likes to tease people. Especially poor Lucy."

"they sound like a fun bunch."

"They're incredible. I've only got a few more pictures, but I won't make you listen to me ramble on about people who don't even... remember me..." I trailed off as I stared down at the picture again. I could feel Sans looking at me, so I looked back up at him. I realized our shoulders were touching, and I pulled back slightly. I tried to laugh it off, "I'd love to introduce you guys sometime if I could."

Sans gave me a smile and said, "listen... maybe i can help you with that." 

"What?" I asked, unsure if I heard correctly.

He winked. "i know a thing or two about shortcuts. once we wrap things up here... maybe i can find a way for you to see your friends again."

I beamed at him. "Sans, are you serious?"

"it's the least i can do since you're going out of your way to help us." I stared at him excitedly for a moment, but then it faded. I sighed, looking away from him. "No... I probably shouldn't do that."

"you worried about messing up their timeline?"

"I got Erza _killed_ , and a lot of other people hurt just by being there, and existing there. Honestly, I'm terrified that the same thing will happen here. If anything happened to you guys, I'd..." I trailed off as I hugged my knees to my chest. I could feel Sans staring at me again as Flowey shifted on my arm uncomfortably. "It's probably best if I don't go back, but thank you for offering, Sans."

Sans placed one of his hands on my shoulder. I looked back at him as he gave me his usual smile. "don't sweat the details, doll. we'll worry about it later." 

I smiled as I felt his fingers brush against my shoulder. "You... you're a nice guy, Sans... Thank you."

Flowey suddenly started shaking back and forth rapidly as he made gagging sounds, making Sans pull his hand off of my shoulder. "Ah, geez! Would you two knock it off already! Alphys, hurry up before they make me barf!" 

"H-hold on! I think I might be onto something!" We all turned towards Alphys. I got up and went behind her, looking over her shoulder. The green, holographic screen was peppered with running programs. They moved so fast that I couldn't keep up with them, but I watched anyways. Sans suddenly appeared next to me, making me jump. He asked, "you got somethin', doc?"

"Th-there appears to be s-some kind of... _static_... or something in this area..."

"Static?" I asked.

"That's the best way I can explain it... It's like an electrical current fl-flowing through the air, but it-it's not _physically_ there. It's m-more like noise..."

"can you adapt it to actual audio?" Sans asked.

"Th-that's what I'm working on now." A few more clacks on the keyboard and she exclaimed excitedly, "Yes! That worked! Now j-just a few more..." Alphys continued to click away until suddenly an eerie audio began to play around us. It sounded like dial tones trying to connect mixed with the sound of hollow wind. A few patches of dead silence fizzed in and out, but then these quirky tones started to take over. I recognized it immediately as Gaster's speech tone from the game. 

"Sans, it's--" I began, but before I could finish, Wingdings text erupted around us, like light particles as they flew past us like a series of one and zeros. 

“WOWIE…” Papyrus stared up in awe. 

"What the hell does that say?" Flowey asked as he bobbed back and forth, watching the symbols fly by like a cat following a laser pointer. 

"I can't put the words together... The image is too distorted." I said.

"alphys, see if you can remaster the image."

"R-right!"

Alphys began clicking away again, the clacking of the keys mixing with the garbled noises flowing around us. Alphys growled in frustration as she said, "Dammit! Th-this can't keep up with it on it's own..."

"What do you need!? We can get it for you!" I said desperately.

"S-some kind of power source should give me the boost that I need! We don't have much time! I can't keep up!" 

The noise around us picked up, and I had to scream to be heard. "What about Mettaton!? Would you be able to hook up to him?"

"Y-yes, but you have to hurry!" 

"I'm on it!" I said as I requipped into my Hydrabell armor again. "Where is he?"

"He-he should be back at the lab!" 

I reached out to make a portal when Sans stopped me, grabbing my wrist. The sudden gesture startled me. I looked at him questioningly, and he returned it with a wink, then let go of my wrist and vanished. I stood there blinking for a moment, then realized that Sans probably wanted me to conserve my magic power. I reverted into my regular clothes and sighed, my eyes feeling heavy. Flowey scoffed at me.

"What's up with you?" He screamed over the noise.

"My magic power is getting low." 

"Oh, that's why Trashbag went to get glamour bot for you..." The noise started to quiet down, Flowey and I able to speak without screaming.

"Yeah. I guess he could tell how tired I was. I always forget how observant he is."

"Ugh, don't start fawning over him because I _do not_ want to hear it."

“OR FAWN OVER HIM! WHATEVER WORKS FOR YOU!” Papyrus smiled. “AUDIBLE WINK!” 

"Hey, I'm not!” I shook my hands. “ I'm just saying, the guys observant. And somehow... extremely charming in person, but that doesn’t mean anything, alright?” 

"Yeah, you've been doing great at expressing that so far." Flowey said sarcastically.

"I'm getting really sick of your shit." I said, crossing my arms.

"So, does your magic power run out that fast all the time?"

"It depends on how much I use it. I haven't requipped this much in a really long time. Not to mention my Fanalis armor's quirk is that it makes me exhausted. It's easy to run out if I'm not careful."

"Well, isn't that convenient?"

"Remind me again... How have you been helpful?"

Sans suddenly appeared with Mettaton right next to us, making us both jump. "found 'im." Sans said simply as he let go of Mettaton's hand. Papyrus clapped, stomping in place excitedly as he cried out, “IT’S METTATON!” 

Mettaton was in rectangle form, his screen illuminating as he spoke. A sensual, filtered voice came out of him as he rolled pass Papyrus. He gave him a finger gun and said, “HELLO, DARLING! YOU LOOK ABSOLUTELY RAVISHING TODAY! CAN I TAKE YOU HOME AFTER THIS?” 

“METTATON!” Papyrus gasped. “YOU KNOW YOU HAVE A SHOW TONIGHT! AND I’LL BE THERE TO WATCH IT! YOU CAN’T DISAPPOINT YOUR FANS!” 

Mettaton giggled as I asked, “Did… Did he just hit on Papyrus?”

“yeah. i really don’t like this guy.” Sans said under his breath. 

Mettaton then turned his attention to Alphys, stretching one arm up in the air dramatically. "ALPHYS, DARLING! I HEARD YOU'RE IN NEED OF MY ASSISTANCE!" 

"M-mettaton! Hook yourself up to my computer!" Alphys said without looking up from her keyboard.

"YOU KNOW I CAN'T DO IT MYSELF! I DON'T KNOW HOW!" 

"I have to keep fighting the program! I can't stop!" 

Sans sighed, then said reluctantly, "i'll hook him up. c'mon, mettaton. open your panel."

"OH, MY~! RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOUR BROTHER! HOW SCANDALOUS!"

"please, don't make this weird, and turn around." Sans said, keeping his cool.

Mettaton rolled over to Sans, opening a panel on his back underneath the giant switch to transform him into Mettaton EX. I got on my tip toes, rubbernecking as I watched Sans working on the switches and wires in Mettaton. I stepped closer, going to Sans's side. He smiled like always, but I could see the annoyance in his face. 

"OH, I MUST SAY, SANS! YOU'RE VERY GOOD WITH YOUR HANDS! YOU MUST USE THEM WHEN YOU'RE FEELING _BONELY_!" Mettaton said, then gave a delighted laugh. 

"this is making me uncomfortable." Sans said dryly.

"This is pissing me off." I admitted as I crossed my arms.

"This is cracking me up!" Flowey laughed, then leaned forward and whispered harshly, "Suffer, Trashbag!" 

Sans then stepped back from Mettaton, pulling a cable with him as he went to Alphys, plugging it into her portable computer. Mettaton instantly jumped, his metal arms tensing as the screen on his face flashed between yellow and red rapidly. The letters around us suddenly became larger and more clear, shifting together to form words. 

“WORRY NOT, FRIENDS! I’LL READ THE TEXT!” Papyrus placed a hand on his chin. “A SKULL. A FLAG. ANOTHER TYPE OF FLAG. A POINTED FINGER--”

“We can see that much, _idiot_.” Flowey growled. 

Sans, Flowey and I stared up at them. Sans stepped back, squinting up at the letters and spoke in Gaster's text tone. I raised a brow at him as he said, "it says, "the... the child..."  
"Does he mean Frisk!?" I asked.

"no idea." Sans shook his head and continued to read. "the door... will not... appear..." The letters fizzed out just as Sans finished his sentence, and sparks started flying out of Alphys's computer. The sparks shot through the cable and zapped Mettaton, causing him to jump and tense up again. Alphys dropped the computer, jumping back from it and shaking her hand as she cried out, “Oww!” Everything faded, including the audio, as soon as the computer hit the ground. 

"tch. cryptic as always." Sans said.

"A lot of good _that_ did." Flowey said.

“METTATON, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?" Papyrus’s tender voice asked as he kneeled next to Mettaton, who took full advantage of the situation. He dramatically laid his arm across his screen. 

"OH, I'M FINE, PAPYRUS DARLING. I THINK I JUST BLEW A FUSE, BUT WHO KNOWS… THIS COULD BE THE END OF ME!!"

“NO, METTATON! YOUR FANS WOULD BE SO DISAPPOINTED!! YOU HAVE TO GET UP!!” 

“H-hang on, Mettaton! I'll t-try to fix you up in a minute..." Alphys said as she scrambled her computer from the ground. "Let me just see if..." She paused as she picked it up, and tried to power it back on. She pushed the button, but nothing happened. "Oh, no... the shock fried the computer..." She sighed as she looked at Sans and me. "I-I'm sorry... I'll have to go back and get more equipment."

"Don't sweat it, Al. We just need to try aga--" A flash of light shot around us as I hit the ground hard. Flowey tightened his vines on my arm as he smacked face first into the ground, crying out profanity. 

"Ah, fuck..." I groaned as I lifted my head up. I stopped dead when the gray door came into my vision. It fizzed in and out of reality just like the Wingdings text. A quick glance around told me the shock wave knocked everyone down. Sans stood up, then held a hand down to me as he said, "knock, knock."

"Who's there?" I asked as I took his hand.

"a door."

"A door who?"

"a door has opened up for us." He pulled me to my feet. 

I laughed. "Sans, you're _a-door-able_."

Papyrus groaned. “I MAY REGRET LETTING THIS HAPPEN.” 

"I-I don't believe it... The sh-shock must have affected the fabric of reality all together..." Alphys said as she stared in awe.

"So, can we go in now, or what?" Flowey asked impatiently.

"let's _knock_ this thing out." Sans said with a wink.

“THAT’S IT. YOU’RE GROUNDED FROM ALL PUNS FOREVER.”

Sans furrowed his brow bones in disbelief. “you can’t ground me.”

“YOU’LL SEE!” Papyrus clenched his fist, trying to look menacing. It wasn’t. 

Flowey groaned as I gave a small laugh. "Sans, wait..." I began. "Let me try to open it. I don't want you getting hurt..." I put my hand on his arm before I realized what I was doing. He looked surprised by the touch, but smiled at me. 

"OH, MY~! THE SUSPENSE! THE DRAMA! THE ROMANTIC TENSION! JUST LOOK AT THESE RATINGS!" Mettaton cried out. All of our attention went to him as Alphys said, "M-Mettaton! You're recording this!?"

"WHY, OF COURSE, ALPHYS DARLING!" 

"W-well, no wonder you blew a fuse!" 

Well, so much for keeping it a top secret mission. I didn't think the entire Underground needed to know what we were up to, but there wasn’t much we could do about that now. 

I went to the door, watching it as pieces of it shifted in and out of reality. I realized instantly that there was no way I could physically open the door. "I'm gonna need a requip for this." I sighed.

"you gonna use another _boobie_ trap?"

"Ugh, please don't..." Flowey begged.

"I think... I've got just the right requip for this..." I closed my eyes, then said, "REQUIP!" I changed instantly into a new armor. Homura Akemi from Madoka Magica. The outfit consisted of a white, long sleeve top with a pale, purple ribbon around the collared neck. A matching, short, pleated purple skirt laid over black leggings with a diamond pattern up the sides. A thin, red ribbon tied itself into my hair, the magic dressing me up. 

Changing clothes like this was a cinch, though it did take up magic power. I missed being able to freely use the magic Erza taught me. 

"Wow! Y-you look like an anime school girl!" Alphys said excitedly. I gave her a shrug and a smile. She wasn't wrong.

"I guess I could call this one my Magical Girl armor? Nah, I'll come up with a better name later. I can manipulate time with this one, but I think it can only go back a month... I don't know if this'll work, but... " I paused. "I don't think I can use this requip too much. Not unless I _have_ to."

"you won't." Sans said plainly. I looked over my shoulder at him. His eye lights had disappeared, leaving empty eye sockets. 

I turned back to the door and reached out to it. It zapped, fizzing from my touch, but then quickly solidified. I laughed excitedly. I lifted my arm up so Flowey's eyesight was level with mine. "Flowey, I'm gonna let you down for this."

"What, you're going in there?" He asked.

"My requip should keep me safe from getting lost like Frisk and Gaster. I'll be safe, but you won't. You might be okay hanging onto me the way you do, but I don't want to chance you getting hurt."

Flowey's face scrunched up like I was speaking another language. He hesitated, but then quickly blurted out, "W-well, I'm STILL not your friend! I STILL hate you!" 

"I know." I smiled. I lowered Flowey down to the ground and waited as he rooted himself into the dirt. He looked distressed as he looked up me. I almost commented on it, but decided not to tease him. I glanced at Sans as I stood up, and reached for the doorknob. 

"before you go..." Sans began. I looked over my shoulder at him. "i was gonna say somethin', but... i forgot."

“SANS, THAT WAS NOT THE ROMANTIC GESTURE WE WERE ALL HOPING FOR.” Papyrus gave a disappointed sigh. He looked to me, his eyes welling up with tears. “PLEASE! BE CAREFUL, MY SWEET WARRIOR PRINCESS! I’LL BE HERE WAITING FOR YOUR RETURN WITH THE MISSING CHILD YOU ARE SO BRAVELY GOING INTO THE UNKNOWN TO SAVE! ARE YOU SURE YOU DON’T WANT ME TO ACCOMPANY YOU ON THIS PERILOUS JOURNEY!?” He turned back to Sans. “YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT!” 

“...ok.” 

I decided to humor him. “Oh, Great Papyrus! Your kind words have swooned me so! Be careful, or I might fall in love with you!” 

“WHAT!?” Mettaton snapped. 

I laughed, rolling my eyes as I turned back to the door, turning the knob. The door creaked loudly, like a haunted house sound effect. I hesitated for a moment before stepping inside. A short hallway with gray walls stretched out in front of me. My footsteps echoed as I stepped forward. As soon as I released the doorknob, the door slammed shut behind me. I jumped at the noise, but didn't turn around to look at it. I stepped forward a few more steps until I found a small, rectangular room at the end of the hall. A tall, but hunched over figure stood in the middle. I stopped dead as soon as I saw him. His body almost looked solid, but goops of black dripped from the bottom of his coat tails and floated up like he stood in zero gravity. The text tone we had heard outside came from him. 

"Dr. Gaster?..." I said, trying to get his attention. His head lifted up into view from over his shoulders as he heard his name. He slowly turned to me, his face peering around creepily. His right eye socket drooped down, like a lazy eye. The other one stayed wide like the void we stood in. A crack started from the droopy eye and went up to the top of his skull. Another crack shot from the bottom of his left eye down to his uneven mouth. 

"•T'S YOU... THE B☼UNE❄❄E WITH •✌☝IC..." He said, his speech shuffled with his text tone. His hands came into view as he faced me. A gaping hole rested in each palm. I took another step forward, and Gaster shot out his hand. "Y⚐U •UST NO❄!" 

"What?" I asked, trying to understand his speech. I looked down as his body morphed just enough to reveal a small hand behind him. Frisk peeked their small face out, cowering slightly. They opened their eyes when they saw me, big and brown, a gasp escaping from their small mouth. They began to cry instantly. 

"Frisk!" I said, relieved. Their voice quivered as they gazed at me, reaching out. 

"✡OU •ON'T UN•ER•TA☠D! YOU C✌☠ NOT ❄✌•☜ ❄☟☜ •☟•☹•!" 

Gaster began to fizz and glitch, and his body began to fade. He cried something out, but I couldn't make it out. I waited until the Wingding text appeared around me again. I couldn't speak in hands, but I could read them. I looked around me, trying to figure out what he was trying to tell me, but I couldn't keep up as fast as Sans. I said the only words I could make out aloud, "The anomaly... Papyrus... Sans... can not stop... m... must stop..." I sighed, unable to keep up. The words then changed into multiples of '[REDACTED]'. "Gaster, I can't make out what you're saying! I'm sorry!" 

"NOT AGAIN!" He screamed over the noise echoing around us. I wasn't turning back without them. I knew Gaster was fading in and out of reality, if that vast prison cell counted as reality. I sprinted forward, yelling, "I'm gonna get you out of here!" 

"☠⚐!" Gaster screamed as I grabbed Frisk's hand.

"I'm here to help you! You can trust me!" I said to Frisk. They whimpered, tears streaming down their round face as they grasped my arm for dear life. I turned and grabbed onto Gaster's hand. I started to activate my magic, but my hand phased right through his before I could do anything. I gasped, trying to reach out for him, but everytime I touched him my hand went through him like breaking the water's surface. I pulled Frisk close to me as the two of us began to fizz like Gaster. There wasn't enough time to save him. 

"Gaster, just hang on! I'll get you out of here!" I called out. The speech text and [REDACTED]s around me started moving rapidly, like lines of data, ones and zeros ripping past us. One of Gaster's ghostly hands stretched out and my soul turned blue. Before I could react, Gaster pushed forward, slamming me into the wall of the small room. I cried out, my grip on Frisk almost slipping. We hit the floor and I jumped up, ready to defend myself when Gaster vanished.

"Why did he just...?" I panted as I tried to make sense of what just happened. Why did Gaster attack me? 

The room around us toppled, flipping on its side, causing Frisk and I to spin. The shock almost made me let go of Frisk, but I grasped them tightly. A heat wave hit us instantly and a red glow emitted around us. I backed up against hot metal, looking down at the pool of lava that appeared beneath us. Only a shallow ledge kept Frisk and me from falling. Frisk quickly lost balance, but I grabbed onto them and hugged them to me as they cried out in fear. 

"It's okay! I won't let you fall!" I looked ahead of us to see a ledge. I knew we were in Hotland, but I had no idea where at that point. The ledge was close enough to jump to, so I requipped into my Fanalis armor. I picked Frisk up, resting them on my hip and wrapped my arms around their waist. They quickly grabbed onto my neck for dear life. "Just hang on tight, and don't look down!" I said. I took in a deep breath, then jumped. We landed hard, rolling to a stop as we clung to each other. When we finally stopped, I let out the breath I had been holding in. I sat up, letting go of Frisk. I looked to see that we had somehow ended up on the side of the Core. The looming tower of metal creaked and moaned as I let out a small chuckle. "How the hell did we end up there?"

I felt Frisk staring at me, their eyes darting left and right at the details of my face. I gave them a smile and said, "S-sorry about that... I don't know how we ended up there, but at least we're safe." 

Frisk leaned forward, their small nose twitching slightly, just barely wrinkling. I raised a brow at them as they leaned back, smiling. "Smells like coffee." They said. The voice that came out was small, but sweet and gentle. 

I laughed, "Yeah, that doesn't surprise me..." I paused as my vision started to get blurry. I rubbed my eyes and said, "My name is Brandi... It's nice to finally meet you!" 

They stared at me harder, their blank, neutral face making me feel a bit awkward. After a few long moments of silence, they said, "My name is Frisk, but I think you already knew that... It's nice to meet you, too…” They paused as they smiled again. “Thank you for saving me."

"It's... no problem..." I paused again, my vision blurring out. I felt like I was about to pass out. "C'mon, I'll get us... back to everyone... I know... a... shortcut--" I tried to get on my feet, but instead fell forward, landing face first on the ground. I felt Frisk's small hands land on my back as they spoke to me, but I couldn't make out what they were saying. As darkness took over my vision, I couldn't help but smile. Frisk was safe, so there was no way the day would reset again. I shut my eyes, knowing everyone could go back to their normal lives. I'd done it. I'd saved their timeline. Now I could go home knowing everyone was okay.  
________________________________________________________________________

I woke with a start, gasping, and grabbed my chest as I sat up. I looked around, realizing I was in Alphys's lab. Her bed was unfolded from its box form, and I had somehow wound up in it. I found Flowey nestled in a pot on Alphys's work table in front of the bed. My gasping breaths caught Flowey's attention, and he said, "Whoa! You're awake!" 

"F-flowey!?" I said, trying to process.

"Yeah, it's me, you idiot. I can't believe you aren't dead!" He smirked. "It's a shame, really." 

"Wh-what happened?" 

"Frisk said you--"

"Frisk is okay!?"

"Yeah, they're fine. You wanna interrupt me before I can explain again?"

"Sorry, damn." I grumbled.

"Frisk said you passed out after you escaped from the Core."

"What about Gaster?" I asked desperately.

"Sorry, no Gaster."

"Dammit... I was afraid of that..." I said as I stared down at the blankets around me. I grabbed them in my hands and twisted them around. I could feel Flowey staring at me.

"Want me to call Smiley Trashbag up here?"

"Why would I want you to do that?" I asked defensively.

"He wanted to talk to you when you woke up. I'm not doing it to be _nice_."

"Oh... no, you don't have to call him up here. I'll go downstairs." I got out of the bed and stretched my arms over my head. "So, who's all here?" I asked.

"Everyone and their _mom_. Literally. Toriel came out of the Ruins."

"What? Why?" 

"because everyone's memories are suddenly back." 

Sans's voice suddenly surrounding me startled me, and I fell back onto the bed. I looked up at him as he smiled down at me. I caught a glimpse of Frisk as they peered at me from behind Sans, clutching onto his jacket sleeve. 

"Geez, can you _not_ sneak up on a girl like that?" I sighed.

"sorry." He shrugged. "i wanted a chance to talk to you before the others came up here."

Frisk made a small noise, like a grumble. I smiled and waved at them. "Hey, Frisk! Sorry I passed out on you like that." Frisk hesitated briefly before they ran up to me, jumping on the bed next to me and hugging me around the neck. It surprised me, but I gave a delighted laugh, and hugged them back. They let me go, but held onto my hand as they sat directly next to me on the bed. Sans watched us as Frisk said, "It's alright. I'm just glad you're okay."

"So," I said, turning my attention back to Sans. "You said everyone's memories were back? How much of their memories?"

"as far as i can tell... they only remember the first timeline. when the kid came through the first time."

"So, they don't remember--" I stopped when Frisk's grip on my hand tightened. I glanced down at them. Sans shook his head. 

"nope. just the four of us in this room. but it's for the better." Sans paused, his tone changing. "no one else has to live through the hell you caused."

"Sans, I... I'm sorry… I promise it’ll never happen again!" Frisk said, their voice cracking.

“yeah, i haven’t heard _that_ before.”

"Sans, they--" 

"don't defend them." 

"They weren't the one in control, Sans. Don't take it out on Frisk."

"yeah, because i'm supposed to believe that."

"It's written that way, Sans... It was written for that to happen. It's up to the player what happens to you guys... Not Frisk." I explained. 

"Ohhh, you _did_ tell me that back at the Ruins..." Flowey hissed, a smirk replacing the bored look he had. "Of course, it's a good enough excuse to make yourself feel better, right, Frisk? I mean, the player _has_ to find out what happens on both routes, right?"

I shot Flowey a glare. Sans looked away from us at the floor, his smile still there, but his eye sockets looked troubled. He quickly brushed it off, however, and shrugged, his eyes chipper. "welp. no point in worrying about it now. everything seems to be back to normal."

"Sans, I, uh..." He looked down at me, his curious expression stumping me up. Had be _always_ been this cute? "I'm sorry... about Gaster. I tried to save him, but..."

"the kid told me everything. i know you did what you could." He paused. "he's been lost in there for so long, i doubt we'll ever get him out of there."

"Sans?"

"hmm?"

"Who _is_ Gaster to you anyway?" I stared up at him, determined to find out the secrets to Gaster. I had always been enamoured with him because no one knew what the hell he was supposed to be. After all the theories I'd read about him… I had to know. Sans opened his mouth to answer, but Papyrus barreled into the room with Undyne's arm around his neck as she gave him a noogie. 

Dammit. 

"SANS, ARE YOU TALKING TO THE HUMANS?!?! IF SO, YOU MUST STOP BECAUSE I WOULD LIKE TO BE THE FIRST TO SPEAK TO BRANDI!!!" Papyrus cried out.

"No way, punk! I'm talking to her first!" Undyne said as she rubbed the top of his skull harder.

Toriel came into the room after them, "Perhaps we should remain quiet in case she's still resting." She said, trying not to laugh at their rough housing.

"Mom!" I said excitedly. Toriel looked at me and smiled, "Hello, Brandi! I'm glad to see you're alright." Undyne threw Papyrus to the ground, and he cried out, "NYEEEHHH!!" Undyne laughed as Alphys came into the room, timidly standing by Toriel. "U-Undyne, please don't break anything!" She pleaded. 

Undyne made her way over to the bed, slamming her fists down on it so hard that it jumped, sending Frisk and me up into the air slightly. "Hey, punk! Why did you close the portal!? I thought you kidnapped my friends!! I ran _all_ around Waterfall looking for you guys!”

"Uh, sorry, Undyne. I had a little mishap with my requip..." I said with a shrug. Papyrus had recovered from Undyne's attack and scurried to the side of the bed next to Sans. I was starting to feel surrounded, but I didn't mind. 

"SANS! SANS!!" 

"yeah, bro?"

"THE HUMAN IS AWAKE!!!" 

"good eye, pap." Sans said proudly.

Papyrus squinted his eyes and cut me a look. I raised a brow as he gestured towards the bed. "SANS, PERHAPS YOU SHOULD REST HERE!" 

"you're encouraging me to rest?" Sans asked suspiciously.

"YES!" 

"...why?"

"WHY!? AFTER CARRYING BRANDI ALL THE WAY HERE YOU MUST BE EXHAUSTED!" 

"You... carried me back to the lab?" I asked, a smile creeping on my face. He shrugged. 

"yeah. it was no biggie."

"It's not as romantic as you're picturing, idiot." Flowey said, then started laughing. "He used his magic to carry you! You looked like a broken rag doll!" 

I chose to ignore Flowey, and continued to picture Sans carrying me bride style. Then shook my head because I felt like a creep. "However you carried me, thank you. Seriously. I would have died from a heatstroke otherwise."

"don't _sweat_ it, doll." He winked.

"SANS, I TOLD YOU YOU WERE GROUNDED!!" Papyrus screamed as Frisk, Toriel, and I giggled. "DON'T MAKE ME TAKE AWAY YOUR SOCK COLLECTION BECAUSE I AM NOT AFRAID TO BECOME DRASTIC TO GET MY POINT ACROSS!!" 

"Are puns too _hot_ for you, Papyrus?" Toriel asked.

"THE IS THE WORST DAY EVER!" Papyrus said, his eyes bulging out. A flutter of purple caught my attention. Asgore had walked into the room, a nervous smile on his face, and carrying a cup of tea. Toriel's face instantly scrunched up upon seeing him. I always looked at my ex like that, too. 

"Asgore! You finally made it!" Undyne said, her voice suddenly more chipper.

"I apologize for being late..." He said as he approached the rest of the group. His voice was deep, but light and hearty. "I wanted to thank you miss... uh?..."

"Brandi." I said with a smile.

"Ah! Yes, miss Brandi. I've brought this to you as thanks. Although I'm not sure what happened, I know you risked your life to save us, and in return you've restored our memories. It is not much, but please, accept this as a token of my gratitude..." He held the cup of tea out to me. I took it from him, my fingers brushing against his soft, white fur. It felt just like Toriel's. 

"Thank you. I really appreciate it." I said, then took a slow sip from it. 

"It's golden flower tea... My favorite! What do you think?" Asgore asked, glowing.

The taste was herbal, but sweet like camomile with a hint of honey. I couldn't help wondering if it was how Flowey would taste if I licked him. I decided I'd try that out if I got drunk enough. 

"Are you sure this isn't soda?" I asked. Asgore gave me a confused smile. "Because it's _soda_ licious." I was completely satisfied at the mixture of laughter and groans I got. 

I looked down at Frisk as they tugged on my arm. "Are you going to come to the surface with us?" They asked.

"Wait, the barrier's broken!?" I asked. 

"Heck yeah it is!" Undyne said as she put an arm around Alphys's shoulder. Her face turned bright red as Undyne continued, "It happened when our memories came back!" 

I laughed, "Then why are you goofs all still down here!?" 

"WE COULDN'T GO TO THE SURFACE WITHOUT MAKING SURE YOU WERE OKAY FIRST!" Papyrus said.

"yeah. papyrus was even crying." Sans nudged his brother's side with his elbow.

"NO I WASN'T! I JUST... CAUGHT SOMETHING IN MY EYE!" 

"oh, yeah? what did you catch?"

"TEARS!" Papyrus said as water formed in the corners of his eye sockets. 

Frisk tugged on my sleeve again. "You never answered my question! Are you coming to the surface with us?" 

"Well, yeah! I'll see you guys to the surface for sure."

Frisk turned to Toriel, their short, brown hair twirling around their round face. "Mom, can big sis stay with us? She's going to need somewhere to live!" 

_Big sis?_

"Wait, Frisk, I--"

"Of course! She's more than welcome to!" Toriel smiled.

I had to stop it before it started.

I stood up immediately, gripping the tea cup in my hands tightly as I said, "Please, wait..." I set my tea cup on the worktable next to Flowey, who eyed the cup wearily. "I'm sorry, but... I can't stay..." The whole room fell silent. I could feel everyone staring at me. I stared down hard, watching the conveyer belt on the floor continuously turn until Frisk asked, "B-but why not?"

I sighed. "I'm not from your world." My heart sank as Erza's face came into my mind. "I came here to fix your timeline, and that's it. Now that everything's back to normal... I have to go back to my world before something goes wrong again."

"BUT... BUT YOU JUST GOT HERE!" Papyrus said, his smile fading. 

"You can't just make friends with us like that and then leave! Are you _that_ much of a jerk!?" Undyne said, her brow furrowing.

"It's not like I want to. I _have_ to." I glanced over at Flowey. He was staring hard at the floor. He looked irritated.

"N-not necessarily!" Alphys chimed in. "Although, it could be detrimental to your universe, that is, if you do stay..." She trailed off, mumbling inaudibly. 

"I hate to see you go, Brandi. We've only just become acquainted! I would not mind you staying with Frisk and me until you're ready to leave." Toriel said.

"At least accompany us to the surface before you depart!" Asgore said.

"I'll do that, but... I should go after that. I, uh... I really don't think prolonging the inevitable is a good idea." 

"c'mon, doll... celebrating with us for one night can't hurt, can it?"

I looked at Sans in surprise. I thought _he_ of all people would understand why I had to leave as soon as possible. Not that he'd care enough to force me out, but... I figured he'd back me up. I hesitated before I gave a shrug. "I guess... one night couldn't hurt."

The room was suddenly filled with swirling colored lights as a disco ball entered from a panel in the ceiling. Everyone stopped dead, looking around at the light show as Mettaton's voice filled the room. "DID SOMEBODY SAY "CELEBRATION!?" He slid one leg into the room, his pink boot poking out from behind the wall seductively. He stepped in the rest of the way to reveal his new body, Mettaton EX, and placed one hand on his hip and the other in the air with a microphone gripped in it. "WHY, IT JUST SO HAPPENS THAT I HAVE A BANQUET HALL FILLED WITH FOOD, DRINKS, GAMES, SHOPS AND MORE JUST WAITING TO BE THE SETTING FOR SUCH AN OCCASION!" 

"Oh, isn't _that_ convenient...?" I smiled as I crossed my arms. "You guys set this up, didn't you?"

"IT WAS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" Papyrus yelled, barely able to contain his excitement. "I'VE COOKED COPIOUS AMOUNTS OF SPAGHETTI FOR US TO FEAST ON!" 

Sans shrugged. "i made 'dogs. apostrophe dogs."

"Are they actually hot dogs, or water sausages in a bun?" I raised a brow at him.

" _water_ you talkin' about?" Sans waggled his brow bones as he smiled. 

"Guess you'll have to come to find out!" Frisk sang as they tugged my cardigan sleeve.

"I... I guess I will." I smiled. Undyne growled a loud, "NYGAAAAHH!!" as she picked up Alphys's bed and lifted it over her head. Frisk jumped off of it just in time without batting an eye. She cried out, "Yeah! Let's do this!" 

"Oh, U-Undyne!" Alphys cried out as she swooned.

Everyone began cheering excitedly, chatting amongst each other incoherently. I looked over at Flowey again, noticing that he was still sulking on the worktable. I walked over to him, and Frisk followed me. Flowey looked up at me. "What do _you_ want?"

"You doing okay?" I asked.

"Hey, Flowey!" Frisk said merrily.

Flowey sighed. "Leave me alone, Frisk."

"Come to the party, Flowey!" Frisk said.

"Ugh, no! Why would I want to hang around you people?"

"C'mon, Flowey. It's better than sitting by yourself in the Ruins, right?" I encouraged him.

Flowey sighed again, rolling his eyes. "You two still don't get it, do you?" He paused. "I don't love anyone. I _can't_ love anyone. I'll just make you all miserable. Just put me back in the ground, and I'll be out of your hair. You got your stupid happy ending." Frisk and I looked at each other. 

"Flowey, that's okay. We don't expect you to love us." He glanced up at me, peering from underneath one of his petals. "We just want you to feel included, and keep you from getting bored. You're hella fun to banter with." 

"You serious?" He asked.

"I have a lot of fun talking to you, Flowey. Honestly, I wish I could take you home with me when I go back, but I don't think that'd roll over well." I laughed at the thought of Flowey terrorizing my world. He'd become the Omega Overlord in no time flat with all the human souls waltzing around in my apartment complex alone. 

"I REFUSE to become your pet!" He hissed.

"Good! I don't want to take care of your ass anyways!" I said as I held my arm out to him. He used his vines to crawl out of the pot and wrapped himself around my arm as he said, "Ha! I'd be the one taking care of you!"

"How so?"

"You don't even know when you should heal, you idiot! You'll probably die the second you go back!" 

"Oh, don't _even_." I snarled. "We don't fight and heal in my world like you do here." 

Frisk giggled at us and grabbed onto my hand. "C'mon, big sis, let's go!" 

I smiled down at them. I didn't know where "big sis" came from all the sudden, but I had to admit that I loved it.

It also hurt. You couldn't be a very good big sister when you had to leave your younger sibling behind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've never really been satisfied with this chapter, but after reading and tweaking it over and over again, I've found that it delivered what was needed to the story. I'm sorry if it's not your favorite, though there are parts that I really do love. 
> 
> Things are gonna die down for a while after this, but fret not. Angst will ensue again shortly.


	8. A Pose Off!?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The celebration goes underway resulting in a spontaneous pose off. Afterwards, we meet a few of the shop keeps while Frisk and Papyrus come up with a dastardly plan for Sans and me.

Thirty minutes later, and we were all at the filled banquet hall located on one of the floors in Mettaton's resort hotel. I had only seen what was in the game of the hotel, but in person it was... _almost_ beautiful. Elegant, but with a hint of chaos all over it. The lighting flashed purple and blue, giving off the feeling of a nightclub, but vast and gaudy chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The massive room had to take up its own floor of the hotel. At the end of the room stood a vast stage. The walls were lined with different food bars and shops like a convention. Grillby had set himself up a bar, serving drinks. He stood behind it, silently cleaning his glass just like when I met him. The center of the room was peppered with tables, the cloths on them made of a fine silk. He’d covered them with cheaply made party streamers and colored confetti. The very center held an open space for dancing, at least, the disco ball gave that vibe. 

Every monster I'd seen in game and more crowded the banquet. The entire Underground must have been in attendance. 

The night started out promising as Mettaton got up on stage, smoke machines and strobe lights going around him as he announced, "TONIGHT WE WELCOME OUR HONORED GUEST! THE HUMAN, BRANDI!" 

The entire banquet hall erupted in cheers. I gripped the sides of my chair nervously as Frisk clapped, smiling up at me. I hated being the center of attention, so situations like this weren't normally my thing. I lifted up one hand, waving nervously at everyone. Mettaton said, "COME ON UP HERE AND SHOW YOURSELF!" 

With everyone cheering me on, I reluctantly got up, Flowey still attached to my arm, and went to the front of the stage. Mettaton held a hand down to me, helping me up onto the stage. He put his arm around me, turning me to the audience. "SAY HELLO TO YOUR ADORING FANS, DARLING~!" 

"Hey, everyone! I'm up here against my will!" I said in an attempt to free myself from the situation, but only got a few laughs. 

I scanned the crowd, trying to find people I knew as Mettaton went on. I stopped when I found Sans. He winked at me, sending my heart a flutter.

I had no idea where this necrophilic tendency had come from all of a sudden, but for some reason... Sans seemed so... charming? 

Was he a badass? Yes. Was he funny? Yes. Was he the guy I'd dreamed about growing up? No. Absolutely not. I had always pictured a tall, lanky guy with messy hair, and blue eyes. Well, he had at least _one_ blue eye. 

I had to remember. I couldn't stay there with him. With _any_ of them. After the party, I'd leave, and I wouldn't be coming back.

An infatuation. That’s all it was. I’d be over him once I got back home. Guess I would have to, since I’d never see him again after that night. 

"I'm in trouble..." I whispered, my voice lost in Mettaton's bellowing performance. Sans raised a brow bone, and I knew I'd been caught staring unintentionally. 

"SO, DARLING, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE FROM US TONIGHT!? A SPECIAL MEAL? A REWARD? A KISS?"

"A kiss?" I said in surprise.

"A KISS IT IS!!"

"No, that's not what I--"

Mettaton slapped a kiss on my temple, his metal lips smacking against my skull. The audience screamed in delight. My head throbbed, and I groaned in pain. It felt just like Erza slamming my head into her breasts while she wore armor. I don't think anyone taught that woman how to properly hug. 

Mettaton laughed heartily. "I'M ONLY JOKING, BEAUTIES! NOW, HUMAN, PLEASE, GIVE US A REQUEST!" 

I placed a hand on my chin and thought for a moment. I'd never gotten to go through Hotland and have fun with Mettaton like in the game. Since this would be my only chance, I gave a shrug. "Hey, how about we get Frisk up here and the three of us have a pose off?"

"A POSE OFF!?!" Mettaton’s eyes beamed. 

"You're not serious... Ugh, okay, you are." Flowey wilted. 

"DID YOU HEAR THAT, BEAUTIES AND GENTLEBEAUTIES!? WHAT DO YOU SAY!?" The crowd went nuts with incoherent screams. 

"We love you, Mettaton!" 

"Mettaton, I know you'll win!" 

"Mettaton, have my babies!" 

I grabbed Mettaton's hand, pulling the microphone over to me. "You up for it, Frisk!?" They had already gotten up from the table, and started running up. They slammed into the edge of the stage, catching themselves with their hands. 

"Can you handle this, big sis!?" Frisk said with a hint of flirtation. I leaned down, picking them up, and sat them next to me. The audience awed at the two of us. Frisk only went up to my hips. I recalled the conveniently shaped lamp being the same height. 

"Do I have to be here for this?" Flowey whined.

"Yes." I confirmed. Then turned to Mettaton. "How about the two of us versus you, Metta?"

"OOH, I SEE YOU THINK YOU'LL HAVE STRENGTH IN NUMBERS! BUT LET ME ASSURE YOU, DARLING, THAT NO ONE CAN POSE LIKE I CAN! SINCE YOU'RE BOTH AT A CLEAR DISADVANTAGE, I'LL ALLOW IT! BLOOKY, START THE MUSIC!!" 

"ooooooh..." floated from the DJ stand with Napstablook behind it. I resisted the urge to run to Blooky and request him playing 'Death by Glamour' from my cell phone. It had died anyways. 

Music started thumping through the banquet hall, a techno beat with a deep bass pulse. The nightclub feel definitely surrounded us after that. A whining sound erupted behind us as two equally sized, large screens shot down from the rafters of the stage. The screens clicked on, and a line graph appeared, just like in game. However, instead of ratings, it read 'cheers.' 

Mettaton stepped back from us, his legs mesmerizing as he stopped, then stretched one straight up in the air. The crowd went wild, and the line shot up towards the top of the graph. Blooky's small voice came out over the microphone, "flexibility. plus eight hundred."

I looked at Frisk. "You ready to use your cute powers?"

"Are you ready to use those hips, sis?" Frisk teased the question. I snorted a laugh, and leaned close to them, picking them up and hugging them. Frisk hugged me back, giggled as they kicked their leg. The pose was simple, but effective. The crowd awed and cooed at us. The line shot up, but not quite as high as Mettaton's had. "adorable. plus five hundred." Blooky said. 

"What kind of weak attack was _that_?" Flowey asked, totally lost in what the point of the game was. 

Mettaton laughed triumphantly. "YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT, DARLINGS!" He then shot out one hip to the side, accentuating his back side, which was impressive for a robot, and blew a kiss to the audience. The line shot all the way to the top. "flirtation. plus one thousand." Blooky chimed in between the screams.

"Alright, c'mere, Frisk!" I said, grabbing their hands. I layed down on the floor on my back, and offered one foot to Frisk. They placed their foot on mine, and using my leg strength, lifted them up. I used my arms to keep them steady, and Flowey flapped around nervously. I could swear I heard Toriel letting out panicked stutters in the audience. 

"daring. plus six hundred."

I let Frisk down carefully as Mettaton laughed again. "YOU'LL NEVER CATCH UP TO ME AT THIS RATE!" Mettaton posed again, this time doing the actual splits like he melted on the spot instantly. The crowd went wild again as he winked at them. "effortless. plus six hundred."

"We'll never catch up at this rate, sis!" 

"What should we do?" 

"Use your magic!" They smiled. "I'll follow along with you!" 

I nodded, then yelled, "REQUIP!" I changed into my Satan's Son armor, and grabbed the hilt of my sword on the back. I drew out the blade dramatically, and blue fire bursted around me. My ears elongated, and a black, furry tail came out. I loved this requip. Partly because it reminded me of the time Natsu and I fought together side by side. Partly because being engulfed in blue flame made me feel like a badass. And partly because I felt adorable in a school uniform.

Frisk jumped in front of me, cupping some of the blue fire with their hands. The fire was harmless unless I intended for it hurt. They growled at our onlookers, who ate it up.  
"power and cuteness. plus one thousand."

"WHAT!?" Mettaton gasped, his jaw dropping. I had forgotten that Mettaton probably hadn't seen much of what I could actually do. I snickered as he tried to compose himself. "IF YOU'RE USING MAGIC, THEN I DON'T SEE WHY I CAN'T AS WELL!" 

Mettaton shot one hand up in the air, and it began raining small, rectangular Mettaton's with cute, tiny umbrellas. Mettaton spun around before finishing off his pose with a good leg kick. The crowd went nuts again. "flare. plus eight hundred." 

_Damn him. Damn him and his legs._

However, I had an advantage with my legs if I so inclined to use it. 

"Alright, time for some tricks, Frisk. REQUIP!" I changed back into my Fanalis armor, and I could hear Papyrus cheering "NYEH-HEH-HEH'S!" I used the leg power to get in a good jump, landing on one knee like the cliche super hero style. Frisk ran up to me and pretended to faint like a fallen citizen in need of help. The crowd loved it. "drama. plus eight hundred."

"ONE MORE, MY BEAUTIES!! AND THIS IS IT! I'LL TAKE THE PRIZE!" Mettaton said, his confidence unwaning. 

I blinked. "You never said there was a--" 

"Shh, he may give us one." Flowey whispered as Mettaton spread his legs out. The pink heart at his stomach's core began to vibrate, and float around in front of him as lightning shot out from it, perfectly symmetrical as it spun in a spiral. A disco ball came out above him, the blue and white lights beaming down. Frisk and I both stopped dead as a blue light hit us, and Frisk squeaked out, "Blue means stop!" 

"White means move! White means move!" I ushered Frisk away as the blue light left us, and a white one came flying. It caught me on the leg, but it didn't hurt all that much. A negative two appeared above me as the audience gasped. I fell to the floor for dramatic effect. Frisk went right along with it and cried, "Big sis, noooooo!" 

"Frisk! Go on without me! Fight... for our victory!" I gasped, pretending to be in pain, and collapsed on the floor. The crowd was silent. 

"violence. plus three hundred." Blooky moaned sadly. I watched as Frisk stood up, determination stamped on their face. "I'll avenge my sister!" Frisk pointed, "But, I'll spare you!" 

"What...?" Flowey asked dryly, lying limply on the floor like he'd completely given up on making sense of everything. 

Frisk ran behind me so the audience could see me. They said, "Sis, I know you're gone, but I just couldn't hurt another person... I know you'll make a good angel..." 

I had to hide my smile. I knew what requip to end it all with. Without making a sound this time, I changed back into my Heaven's Wheel armor. I stood up, careful not to smack Frisk with my metal wings, and jumped up. The magic from the armor lifted me softly into the air. I spread out my arms and the ring of swords came up behind me. The crowd went nuts. I heard Undyne scream over the crowd, "YEAH!" 

"resurrection. plus one thousand." Napstablook sighed. I reverted back into my regular clothes, and landed on the floor on my feet. Frisk laughed, hugging me as the crowd cheered. Napstablook sighed into the microphone again, getting everyone's attention. "the winner is..." He paused as one screen held the word 'Humans' and the other one said, 'Mettaton.' Numbers flashed across the screen randomly, and everyone waited with bated breath.

"This is so stupid." Flowey said as the numbers stopped. Mettaton had three thousand, five hundred points. Frisk and I had three thousand, nine hundred. 

"the humans..." Napstablook's voice was lost in the crowd's cheer. Some booed, but most were supportive. Frisk and I laughed, and I picked them up, hugging them and spinning them around on the stage. 

I didn't know why, but I felt quickly attached to Frisk. Probably for the same reason all the other monsters had. There was something about them that made them _so loveable_. 

Although he lost, Mettaton congratulated us with the enthusiasm of a cheerleader. The prize he gave us was a plush doll of Toriel... with his face on it. 

After our performance, Shyren got up on stage and sang beautifully. I felt instant relief the second I saw her. After not seeing her in Waterfall, I worried that something might have happened to her. After that, Sans got up on stage and performed some stand up. I laughed harder than necessary, but loved having an excuse to stare at him. Papyrus groaned the entire time, but he kept smiling. 

After that, Mettaton had a band perform low music while the guests mingled. Flowey hung onto my arm as I had made my way over to Burgerpants's stand. Really it was more of Mettaton's stand for the Burger Emporium, and poor Burgerpants got stuck working the counter. I had gone over to meet him because I hadn't had the pleasure yet. He was exactly how I expected him to be. Neurotic and on the verge of a breakdown. 

"Why don't you just kill Mettaton if he's so horrible?" Flowey hissed dastardly.

"Flowey, no!" I chimed in. "Don't tell that to a dysfunctional teenager."

"I'll have you know, lady, I'm _nineteen_ years old. I am very much an adult."

"Yeah, that's what I said at that age." I mumbled as I leaned against the counter and took a sip from my beer bottle. 

"I mean..." Burgerpants continued, so caught up in his sorrow that my words hadn't reached him. He raised both of his paws upward, his eyes twitching. "It's not like I haven't THOUGHT about killing him!"

"Yes, that's the spirit!" Flowey laughed.

"Flowey, I said no!" 

"You're the one who wanted me to _mingle_." He cringed as he said it. "This is what you get!" 

I rolled my eyes, knowing he was right. Flowey wasn't exactly an expert at socially acceptable behavior. I turned back to Burgerpants. "Thanks for chatting with us, B. I'll, uh, catch you later."

"Don't worry!" Burgerpants said as he put a lit cigarette in his mouth. "I'll be... _here_... I'M ALWAYS _HERE!_ " 

I awkwardly laughed as I turned, leaving the counter. I dropped it as soon as my face was out of sight. 

"Well, that was downer." I sighed.

"What did you expect? This whole place is a downer!" 

"For someone who hates social events, I'm actually having a lot of fun! Monsters sure do know how to throw a shindig." 

“Did you just say _shindig_?” 

“Bite me.” I stuck my tongue out at him, then took another gulp, finishing my beer. 

"You're only having fun because you're drunk!" 

"I am _not_ drunk! It takes more than two beers, you ass hat."

"If you get drunk, I'm leaving your arm and killing everyone." 

I made a face at him as I found a nearby trash can, dropping the empty bottle into it. "OH. MY. GOD!" I heard to my left. "Bratty, look!" 

"Oh my God, Catty, you were right!" 

I smiled, turning to the voices. Bratty and Catty had a small stand set up, and the two of them were excitedly staring at me. I approached them with a bounce in my step. The stand was full of absolute garbage, but there were a few interesting things. Most of it consisted of half eaten food and bent up pieces of metal. I saw a necklace dangling behind them that caught my eye. Before I could get a good look at it the girls had moved in front of it. 

"Okay, so like, I'm SO jealous that Mettaton kissed you!" Bratty said.

"It was honestly pretty painful." I admitted. The girls didn't seem to hear me. 

"Bratty, maybe she could, like, get us in good with Mettaton!" Catty said with hearts in her eyes. "I'll give you anything we have here if you get Mettaton to sign my butt!" Catty said, shaking her backside.

"Oh, my God, Catty! Have some self control!" Bratty giggled as she covered the tip of her snout with her hand daintily. 

"I don't think I really have that much influence over Mettaton, but I'll see what I can do." 

"Okay, so like, Catty. Should we make her pay for anything she wants?" Bratty asked.

"I mean, like, yeah! We want people to pay for our garbage!" Catty tried to whisper, but it came out just slightly loud enough to be heard.

"I mean, like, maybe, but she did save us all from like... something?" Bratty whispered back.

I shook my head. "Sorry, girls, but I don't really need..." I paused as I managed to get a closer look at the necklace. It looked so familiar, but it was too far away to tell for sure. I pointed at it. "Actually... can I see that necklace?"

Bratty turned around to look at it. "This one?" She asked as she pointed at it. I nodded, and she pulled it down for me. I squinted my eyes as I inspected it in her hands. It was a simple necklace, but one I knew too well. The band was made of a tight, brown rope. The charm was golden, and looked like a head with horns. 

"Oh, my God..." I whispered. “It’s the Samulet!” 

"The what?" Flowey asked.

I took the necklace from Bratty and held it closer. "This is _Dean's_ necklace..." 

"Who's Dean? One of your Fairy Trap people?"

"Fairy _Tail_." I corrected him sternly. "And no... I've, uh, never actually met Dean, but he's from my favorite T.V. show back home. It's called _Supernatural_. This is the amulet he wears all the time until the end of season four..." 

"Yeah, and?"

"If it's from _my_ world, then how did it wind up here?" 

"How should I know?"

I audibly groaned at how maddeningly unhelpful Flowey was being and turned back to Bratty and Catty. "Did you find this at the garbage dump?"

"It's _good_ garbage!" Bratty assured me.

"Like, _really_ good garbage!" Catty added as she shook her paws. I sighed again, staring down at it. Maybe it was just a look alike? Or maybe _Supernatural_ was a television show on the surface in their world? I gripped onto the necklace. 

"Wait, Catty, that's the creepy necklace that just, like, appeared in our stuff, right?"

"Oh, my God, Bratty, you're right! It's the _haunted necklace_!" Catty shook her vocal cords to sound eerie.

"If you like it, you can, like, have it, I guess." Bratty shrugged.

"Yeah, we've had that for, like, ever. No one wants it." Catty said.

I gripped it tightly. "I'll take it! Thanks, girls!" I slipped it over my head and flipped my hair over the band as Catty added, "Let Mettaton know I'm waiting for him!" 

"Oh, my God, Catty!" Bratty giggled.

"Like, totes, betches!" I winked as I turned away from them. I giggled as Flowey groaned at me. "Don't ever do that again."

"You're no fun." 

"What's the big deal about the necklace anyways?"

"In the television show it's supposed the glow in the presence of God." I patted it as I noticed Muffet's Spider Bake Sale stand. "And I'm glowing in the presence of _donuts_!" 

"You're such a fatty."

"Fuck you, I like food!" I snapped as I approached the bake sale table. "I’ve worked hard to lose weight, okay? If I want a fucking donut then I'm going to eat one." I threw my arms up in frustration. 

"Could you stop shaking me around unnecessarily!?" Flowey snapped.

I sighed. Flowey didn't know me before I went to Fiore, and that I'd worked my ass off after I had left to lose weight. I didn't know if I'd ever see them again, but I wanted to be ready to fight in case. My weight before made it pretty hard to keep up with everyone’s stamina, and it got me in trouble more than a few times at Tenrou Island. So, I sacrificed quite a few donuts, cookies, and bowls of ice cream to achieve that goal. If I wanted a fucking donut now that I'd reached that goal, then by God, I was going to get one. 

Muffet sat at the table, her small frame bent over the table slightly. Her cute head bobbed around back and forth as she used her six hands to pour tea, count money, and place out more donuts on the table simultaneously. Spiders crawled across the table carrying various pastries on their backs. When she spotted us she lit up, her five eyes sparkling a gorgeous purple like jewels. 

"Welcome to my portable parlor, dearie~! Would you like to try one of our spider pastries~?"

"Yes, I'd love to! Could I try a donut?" I asked, my mouth salivating at the sight of them.

"Of course, dearie~! That'll be nine thousand, nine hundred, ninety-nine G!" She said with a smile, her fangs poking out. 

"Uhh..." Was all I managed to get out.

"What seems to be the problem~?"

"Well, I, uh... kind of forgot that I don't have any money from this world..." I admitted.

"You idiot." Flowey hissed. I let that one go because in that moment I _felt_ like an idiot. 

"I'm so sorry! I thought all the food was free!" 

Muffet's face darkened. "We don't give things away for free in my parlor."

"Oh, no, I am so sorry, I'm just gonna go--"

"Just kill her." Flowey chimed in.

"No! Stop saying that!" I snapped at him.

Muffet covered her mouth and giggled, then sat back in her chair. "I'm only kidding~! We've raised enough money to safely escort the spiders from the Ruins. These are free, but only tonight for the banquet~!" 

I laughed at how gullible I was. "Oh, you got me! Thank goodness!" I really didn't want to fight the spider after I'd had a few drinks. Or two. Maybe I was drunk. Nah. 

I took a donut from the table. The spiders crawling around all stopped to look at me. They were much cuter than spiders from Earth, that was for sure. Their round eyes blinked as I looked at Muffet and said, "Thank you!" 

"You're welcome back to my parlor anytime, dearie~! Ahuhuhu~!" She laughed. I took a bite from my donut as I turned away from the table. The alcohol felt like it was starting to affect me, and I lost my balance slightly as I turned. I caught myself, trying to play it off as clumsiness. "Ugh, I can't believe you'd eat that stuff..." Flowey said, thankfully more focused on the donut. 

"Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot to ask if you wanted any!" I said, legitimately feeling bad. What if Flowey was hungry? Did Flowey even eat? I quickly tore a piece off on the side I hadn't bitten into yet and held it up to him. He started squirming away from it immediately, flapping his leaves. "Don't try to share your food with me! I don't want to eat that stuff!" 

"Fine, damn!" I said, then popped the piece into my own mouth. The donut tasted kind of odd, like apple cider, but odd in a good way. As I looked up to keep going forward, Sans had suddenly appeared right in front of me. I jumped, choking on my piece of donut. 

"you're making friends with everyone, huh?" He asked. He stopped smiling when he saw me choking. "uh, you okay?"

Flowey laughed, "She freaks out like that every time you--"

I placed my hand over the side of Flowey's head and shoved him as hard as I could to shut him up. He squirmed as I choked out in between coughs, "Oh, I’m-- _HYUK_ \--fine! DONUT ask!" I laughed awkwardly. 

"heh..." Sans gave a small chuckle as I released Flowey, who shuddered from my touch. "well, i, uh, was wondering if--" 

"SANS!" 

Papyrus suddenly ran up, panting frantically. My heart began beating quickly at the troubled look Papyrus wore. 

"what's wrong, pap?" Sans asked. 

"THE FLOOR IS ON THE SPAGHETTI, AND I NEED YOUR HELP!" 

"uh--" Sans began, but Papyrus picked him up around the ribs, and quickly sprinted away with him before anyone could ask what the hell happened. Flowey and I stood, dumbfounded, as we watched Papyrus's tall head bob back and forth as he ran in between the other monsters in the crowd. 

"Uhh... Okay, that was weird."

"Stupid, you mean." Flowey said.

I felt a small tug on the sleeve of my cardigan. I looked down to find Frisk smiling up at me, their small fingers intertwined with my clothes. 

"Hey, Frisk! Are you having fun?" I asked.

"Yeah, I am! But I think you should come with me, big sis!" 

They grabbed my hand and started dragging me before I had a chance to respond, and I dropped the rest of my spider donut. "Uh, wait, where are we going?" 

"You'll see!" They said mischievously. 

Frisk led me to the stage, pulling me up a small staircase and back into the wings. For some reason I felt nervous, and wished I had stopped by the bar to get another beer from Grillby. He never spoke, but he always had what you needed. Frisk started running, my hand still clasped in theirs, until we reached a door with a large star on it that read, 'MTT.' Frisk opened it and pulled me inside where I found Alphys and Undyne. Alphys sat in front of what looked like a vanity mirror with makeup spread across it. Alphys held a makeup brush in her hand, but only inspecting it. She wore her black and white polka dotted dress. Undyne's back was turned to us as she dug through a closet. She wore the outfit with the leather jacket and scarf. Clothes were strung out all over the floor around her. 

When Alphys spotted me she said, "Oh, U-Undyne! Brandi is here!"

Undyne popped her head out of the closet. She had pulled some of the hair out of her ponytail. It hung almost elegantly over her eyepatch. She clenched her fist as she smiled a very toothy grin. "Hey, punk! You ready for the night of your life!?" 

"I thought I was already experiencing that?..." I said, not sure where this was going. Frisk let go of my hand and ran into the closet, slightly smacking Undyne in the leg as they went in. Undyne made an irritated, "Ngah!" sound as they did. 

"Undyne means a-are you ready for it to get e-even better?" Alphys said.

I shrugged as I smiled. "I don't know if that's possible, but sure!" I paused. "Where are we, anyways?"

"O-one of Mettaton's dressing rooms." Alphys said with a sigh.

" _One_ of them?" I laughed.

"He doesn't even wear clothes..." Flowey said under his breath. 

Frisk ran out of the closet with some kind of clothes gripped in their hands. "Big sis! Big sis!" They chanted excitedly, getting my attention. "Try this one on!" 

"Huh?" I asked, taking the cloth from them. 

"Frisk! I wasn't being serious when I picked that one out!" Undyne called over her shoulder.

"Umm... why?" I asked. 

"It'll make your butt look good!" Frisk said, grinning flirtatiously.

I blinked in surprise for a moment as Flowey groaned, "Ugh, gross mental image!" 

"What is _wrong_ with this kid?" Undyne asked as Alphys giggled nervously.

I laughed it off. "I always forget how flirty you are, Frisk." 

"Try it on!" They urged.

I lifted it up, grabbing it at the top and unraveled the wad it had been bunched up in. It unfolded into a short, plain black tube dress. I bit my lip, trying to approach how to reject it gently. "No offense, Frisk, but, uh... This isn't really my... _style_."

"I didn't think she'd like that one." Alphys agreed with me.

"Whatever you do, don't take your shirt off in front of us again!" Flowey said, turning away from me.

"Again!?" Undyne gasped.

"Yeah, that _was_ s-suprising..." Alphys said shyly.

"WHAT!?!" Undyne growled.

"Big sis, let me see that stripping requip!" 

"It's not a stripping requip! And you can't call me 'big sis,' and then say something like that! Now I know how mom feels..." I whined.

"You're tellin' me you..." Undyne said, clenching her fist around a dress. I looked at her quizzically until she continued, getting progressively louder as she said, "...took off your shirt IN FRONT OF ALPHYS!!" I shielded myself as Undyne started charging towards me, her fist raised in the air, and the dress wiggling from it like a flag in a storm, and I cried out, "I didn't mean to! Please, don't kill me!" 

She stopped as Alphys got up from her chair, waving her arms. "Undyne, please, she really didn't mean to! Her m-m-magic does it to her!" 

Undyne snorted out a growl, then stopped, breathing in slowly to calm herself down. I held my breath as she crossed her arms, closing her eye, then she laughed. "Fuhuhu! You're lucky I know you're not into girls, or I'd beat the _hell_ out of you!" She paused as she threw the dress. "Here! Try this on!" It hit me so hard that it pushed me back slightly when I caught it. 

"Uh... okay?" I said as I looked at it. It was an off white color with lace trimming the edges, but it was too bundled up to see much else about it. I leaned the arm Flowey was attached to down to Frisk. "Would you mind holding him for me?" 

Frisk held their arm out to Flowey as they said, "It's okay, Flowey! I've got you!" 

"Don't treat me like a baby!" Flowey snapped as he slid onto Frisk's arm. 

I found a dressing screen near the closet and went for it. After learning to change my clothes with magic, dressing the normal way became a real pain. Erza taught me that there was nothing wrong with keeping a pair of pajamas in your spatial storage in case of an emergency. I honestly felt like putting on pajamas rather than a dress, but I figured it couldn't hurt to humor them. It was my last night there, after all. 

I said to Undyne as I went behind the screen and slid off my cardigan, "So, how do you know I'm not into girls?"

"I can just tell, okay!?" She snapped back.

"Hold on..." I paused as I peeked around the dressing panel so I could look them in the eyes. "Now that you two have your memories back, are you...?" I trailed off as Undyne's face turned red. I already knew the answer to the question. 

"Oh, uhh???" Undyne said nervously.

"Y-yes, we are!" Alphys answered for her. 

"Hell yeah! You guys are my OTP~!" I sang as I went back around the dressing screen. I took off the rest of my outfit then stored it with the rest of my requips so I wouldn't accidentally leave them in the dressing room. I picked up the dress to get a good look at it as Alphys explained to Undyne what "OTP" meant. It stopped just above my knees in the front, but just past them in the back. The material was soft like thin cotton. The bust was trimmed with a pretty lace pattern. The sleeves were fluttery, getting longer as they trailed down my arm, stopping past my elbow. Lace trimmed the sleeves and bottom on the dress as well. I absolutely loved it. I started to slip the dress on as Frisk asked, "Need any help, big sis?"

"I'd rather _wilt_ than go back there!" Flowey said. 

"I'm good, Frisk, thank you." I laughed. 

I slipped the dress all the way on, then flipped my hair out of the back. I pulled my new necklace out where it would show, and slipped my brown boots I'd been wearing back on. I stepped out from behind the dressing panel and Frisk and Alphys gasped in delight. 

"See? Am I good or what!?" Undyne said as she placed her hands on her hips proudly. 

"You look like a virgin going to the sacrificial altar." Flowey sneered. 

"Oh, okay, wow." I glared at him.

"Don't listen to Flowey, sis! You look beautiful!" Frisk said.

"Thank you, but... What's the dress for, exactly?" 

"NGAAAAAAAAAAAH!!" 

Undyne's scream caught everyone off guard, causing us to scream. She charged over to me, then grabbed me around the waist. I protested as she tucked me under her arm like a sack of potatoes, "Not again!"

"Later, punks!" Undyne called over her shoulder as she darted out of the door. I shielded myself with my arms as she dodged traveller curtains and cables, then sprinted out onto the stage, nearly knocking over the guitarist. She leapt off of the stage, landing hard on the ground, then started dodging monsters like objects in an obstacle course. Monsters turned their heads to watch us curiously only to jump out of our way screaming as we reached the main doors into the banquet hall. Toriel and Asgore stood in front of it. I could barely hear them over the music, but it looked like they were arguing. Toriel's brow furrowed as Asgore stared back at her apologetically. The tension broke instantly when they spotted us. 

"Howdy, Undyne! And... uh?..." Asgore said, trying to hide his confusion. 

"Hi, your majesty..." I sighed, trying to smile underneath Undyne's tight grip. 

"Asgore! No time to talk! I'm on a mission!" Undyne said. She sprinted past them as I reached out for Toriel and cried out, "Mom, please, help me!!" 

"Be careful, you two!" Toriel called out after us. Undyne bursted through the doors and out into the hall. She ran to the elevator, and jumped inside, slamming her fingers on the buttons. She growled when the door didn't open fast enough for her liking and sprinted back out into the hallway. She looked right, then left, and started running again. I opened my mouth to ask her what the hell we were doing, but I couldn't get the words out. She stopped when she spotted a door and kicked it open to reveal a stairwell. She used her free arm to grab onto the railing as she leapt down a few flights of stairs. I screamed in a panic until she landed, her weight slamming into the stairs. She jumped down once again, and we hit the ground floor. I panted hysterically, clinging to her as she exited the stairwell and we found ourselves in the hotel lobby. 

Undyne laughed triumphantly, then sat me down on the ground. My legs shook, and I grabbed onto the fountain in the middle of the room, then sat down on it. Undyne panted, wiping her forehead from all the running. I panted as I clutched my hand to my heart with fear. "You… are insane..." I panted, trying to get my bearings. 

Undyne's phone started ringing, and she answered, "Are you here yet?” I couldn't understand him, but the voice screaming on the other side definitely belonged to Papyrus. "Well, hurry the hell up! I ran all the way here to catch up to you! ...You just said you weren't-- NGAH!" Undyne hung up the phone, shoving it back into her pocket. She then pointed behind me, looking me dead in the eyes, and said, "You can go in now." 

Her finger led to the MTT Resort’s restaurant entrance. When I turned back to question her she had already started sprinting back for the stairwell, disappearing behind the door.  
I sat there, the only sound resonating in the vast room being the broken fountain splashing on the floor. It was the first time I'd been completely alone since I fell into the Underground. 

The anticipation of what waited for me behind the door got the better of me and I stood. I briskly walked to the doors and pushed them open without hesitation. I stepped forward, walking through the foyer and into the dining room. Dim lighting hung in the air save for candles lit on the tables. Each table had a plate laid out with silverware, and a basket of what looked like bread sticks.  
I gasped quietly when I saw Sans sitting alone at the table in the middle of the room. The orange glow from the candles reflected off of him as the flame danced around. His gaze shot in my direction as I stepped forward slowly. 

"Sans?" 

"oh. hey, doll.” He smiled, looking relaxed as always. “you're all _dolled_ up."

"I thought I'd _dress_ for the occasion." I said as I gave a slight curtsy, then headed towards the table he sat at. He chuckled. I paused when I noticed a bowtie attached to the collar of his t-shirt. Other than that, he wore the same outfit he'd been in all day. "Nice bow tie." I snorted.

"thanks. pap picked it out." He gestured at the chair across from him. "wanna sit down?"

"I don't see why not," I paused as I looked over my shoulder, "Since _SOMEONE_ went to all this trouble to set this up!" I then joined him at the table as I heard a faint, "NYEH-HEH-HEH" behind me. 

So, a set up date, huh? That’s why everyone had been acting like lunatics. I didn’t see the point, though. I’d be going home later in the evening. 

I looked across the table at Sans. My two beers had me full of confidence, and relaxed. At least I wasn't choking on a donut or losing my shirt this time. I could do this. Even if it didn’t mean anything, I could enjoy it while it lasted. He seemed open to just going with it. 

"you _do_ look nice, by the way." 

His compliment pulled me out of my train of thought, and everything I had just said felt invalid. I could feel my cheeks getting warm. "Oh, uh, thanks. Undyne picked the dress..." I paused, my awkward getting the better of me. I addressed the elephant in the room. "We've been set up, huh?"

"yeah..." Sans leaned closer to me and whispered, "paps is hiding behind you trying to direct me on what to do and say."

"Does he have his dating rule book?"

"oh, yeah." He grinned, suppressing a chuckle. His smile was always genuine when it came to his brother. I laughed with him, my gaze drifting over his shoulder when I noticed Frisk crouched down behind a plant. Flowey hung onto Frisk's arm looking like he'd rather be anywhere else in the Underground.

"Don't look now, but I've got one, too." I whispered. 

"the kiddo?"

"Yeah..." I said simply. Silence fell between us. I started looking around the dim room, trying to find anything to look at but him. I felt awkward. If he felt it I couldn't see it on his face. He smiled, but he wasn't looking at me either. He focused on the silverware on the table. I sighed, leaning back in my chair, "This is so dumb..."

"hmm? why say that?”

“I just don't understand why they set this up."

"i think they just wanted us to have a good time."

"I'd relax more if they weren't here watching us..."

"i wonder if they realize that this place is closed down for the banquet?"

I laughed, "Probably not." I watched Sans as he reached inside his jacket and pulled out a bottle of ketchup. He opened it and took a swig from it like a flask. I asked, "Say, what kind of ketchup are you always drinking?"

"huh? oh, it's grillby's homemade ketchup. best in the underground."

"I did try it. It's pretty damn good." I paused. "The smell reminds me of you."

"you sayin' i smell like ketchup?"

"Yes."

"i'll take that as a _condiment_."

I laughed as I heard Flowey and Papyrus groan quietly. Sans cleared his throat as he slipped the ketchup bottle back into his jacket. "it's funny they, uh, stuck us together like this." 

"What do you mean?"

"i was about to ask you if you wanted to go somewhere to talk when paps snatched me. it's not what i had in mind, but, uh… whatever.”

"Oh! Well, that's good..." My heart started fluttering again, and I thanked God that Flowey wasn't on my arm to poke fun at me. "What did you want to talk about?"

He shrugged. "guess i was just curious about what kind of person you are. it's kinda unfair that you know so much about us, yet we know nothin' about you. other than the fact that you can use magic. it's kinda buggin' me."

"Well, I'm an open book. I've got nothing to hide."

"to start off... you wanna explain how you know so much about us?"

I sighed, but tried to cover it up. Sans noticed it, however, observant as always. I tried to explain myself. "It's not that I'm annoyed by your question. It's just kind of hard to explain."

"try me."

"Okay... So, in my world, you exist, but in a... _fictional_ sense." 

"like in a book?"

"Yeah, but you're in a video game. It's called _Undertale_. Actually, it's kind of my favorite." 

He looked slightly intrigued. "how is that possible?"

“I’ve got absolutely no idea.” I crossed my arms as I leaned back in my chair. "You know, come to think of it, the only two places I've crossed over to have both been fictional places in my world. Fairy Tail is actually from an anime. Appropriately named Fairy Tail. I guess there’s a multiverse of fictional worlds out there.”

"huh... so, then, that must mean that any fictional places created in your world exist in the multiverse." 

I blinked. "You think so?"

He shrugged. "just a thought. but if your universe is the center of them all, it’s possible…” He paused, his forced smile fading. He waved it off. “forghedaboudit. so then, what do you do?"

"For a living?" I raised a brow.

"yeah, ya' know, besides saving parallel universes."

"Pfft, I _wish_ I got paid for that."

"oh, you don't?" He propped his head on his hand as he leaned against the table lazily. 

"No. I just work at a retail store back home..." I paused. "I love to draw though. I’d love to sell my art.” 

"what do you draw?" He smirked, and I had to look away.

"Oh, just about anything, really... I'd show you some pictures, but my phone from my world died, and I don't have the charger for it. Anyways, I would take wizarding jobs in my world, but we don't have any."

"that's a shame. it's a waste of talent."

"Says the guy who's too lazy to do his own job."

"i am a _lazy bones_."

I picked up the spoon in front of me. "I knew a skelepun would come out _spooner_ or later."

He grabbed his knife. " _knife_ of you to tolerate it."

I picked up the candle. "I _candle_ it."

He said as he straightened his lopsided bow tie. "i ought to _bow_ down to ya'."

I lightly tapped the side of the bread basket. "Why? Because you're a _basket_ case?" With that one, he laughed, a light hearted chuckle. 

"that was a good one." Sans smiled. I returned it as he leaned back in his chair, putting his hands in his jacket pockets. "so, i'm curious..." 

"Go ahead! Ask me anything!" I said eagerly. 

"what is it about papyrus that you love so much?"

I blinked. "Papyrus?"

"yeah."

I had to snort out a laugh. "Are you kidding me? What's _not_ to love about Papyrus? He's the embodiment of innocence, and positive thinking, but he's not naive... He just has this bright outlook on everything. Seriously, you can't insult him, even if you try..." Sans smiled at me, his eyes filled with mirth. I took in the sight before I continued, "I love Papyrus because no matter what happens to him... No matter how hard he falls... he always pushes forward, and he smiles like it's nothing..." I paused to smile. "I really do admire that about him."

"OH, WOWIE!!" An attempted whisper shot out from Papyrus behind me. I leaned across the table and whispered, "And I'm not just saying that because he's listening." 

"i believe you."

"Really? You're not just saying that?" I teased. 

"yeah. i tend to notice things, and, uh... i can see it in your face, and your eyes. besides, what reason would i have to lie to you now?"

"Now?" I raised a brow. 

He tapped his finger on the table, averting my gaze. "i might’ve been lyin' the first time i said i trusted you."

"Oh..." I tried to play it off like it didn’t hurt my feelings, but it did a tad bit. I shook it off. "No, I understand. I mean, a strange girl comes in with magic power, and you guys already had a lot going on. I get it." I shrugged, giving him a smile.

"i can't tell you how grateful i am for getting everyone out of this mess.” We locked eyes again as he rubbed the back of his neck. “we owe you so much more than a party and a dinner that i didn't even plan."

I laughed again only to cover up the anxiety I felt. "Don't thank me..." I said quickly. He picked up on it instantly, giving me a puzzled expression. 

"why not?"

"I just..." I reflexively placed my left hand on my right shoulder, reaching for my guild symbol. It had become a nervous tick since last year. 

"is this about your guild?" Sans asked. 

I blinked. How could he have guessed that? 

"i noticed you had some kind of symbol on the back of your shoulder when you were fighting my brother earlier today. it's your guild's emblem, right? i saw it on two of the people in your picture." 

He must have been talking about Lucy and Gray. 

I nodded, "Yeah... Every wizarding guild has one. An emblem, I mean. I thought that mine would disappear when I reset the timeline, but... it didn't for some reason."

"at least you have something to remember them by…” He paused, looking away. “it's, uh, not enough, i know."

I knew Sans of all people understood my pain. Except he'd probably lived through it more than I had. Crippling depression seemed to go along with resets. 

"Sometimes, I wish I didn't have it... It's a reminder of my failure, and it makes me miss them like crazy." I admitted.

"relax, doll. i told you i'd help you find a way for you to see your friends again."

"It’s sweet of you to offer and all, but I don't know how we'd do it."

"you've got the ability to travel between worlds, don'tcha?"

I shrugged. "I mean, I guess? The first time I did Gray brought me to Fiore with a one shot spell that couldn't get me back home. And then Zeref sent me back after I reset. When I came here I literally just fell in. If I _did_ do it, it wasn't on purpose." I paused, suddenly realizing it as I said, "I don't even know how I'm going to get back home."

Sans crossed his arms, placing them on the table as he leaned on them for support. He opened his mouth, shut it, then said, "ya’ know... you could just stay here with us."

I blinked at him, making sure I heard correctly. "...What?" 

He rubbed his skull as his eye lights darted away from me and to the floor. "uh, i mean, i know you probably have people back home waiting for you, but... you seem to fit right in here."

"Oh..." I smiled. "God, Sans, I love it here, I really do, but... I'm not supposed to be in this timeline at all. Every second that I'm here I'm terrified the same thing will happen to you guys that happened to Fairy Tail..."

He smiled. "you're right. it makes sense." 

"But..."I'm glad I got to meet you, and everyone else. I’ve… had a pretty rough year, and I was feeling at my worst before I fell down here, but… Everyone here was so kind to me, and I just… I think I really needed to get lost here." I smiled. “It was a great temporary fix to this hell I’ve been in.”

I reached for his hand, grabbing onto it. He returned my smile momentarily, but it faded. He didn't even try to fake it. He looked down as my fingers intertwined with his. He shook his head and took his hand away, my fingertips sliding across his bones. 

"listen, doll... about _this_ whole thing." He gestured around us. I assumed he meant our set up date. "it's been fun, but you know we, uh, we can't do this..."

My heart sank, but I tried to cover it up with a smile. He was better at faking it. My heart was always on my sleeve. I felt embarrassed. "Uh, yeah, yeah, right! Obviously." _Why the hell did I try to grab his hand?!_ I was _never_ that forward. "I wasn't trying to, uh, you know, _hit_ on you or anything… I guess the beers have me feeling _handsy_." 

"i mean, don't get me wrong, you're..." He paused. I looked up at him from under my bangs. He wasn't looking at me. "you love bad puns, and you think my brother's cool, and you're powerful. not to mention you're easy on the eyes..." His face was the slightest tint of blue. He started fidgeting with his bow tie, making it more crooked.

"You can stop, it's okay, Sans. I know you're trying to make me feel better, but..." I sighed, looking towards the wall. _Easy on the eyes?_ "Telling me I'm pretty never really flies with me, so don't bother."

"uh... sorry...?"

He looked confused, and uncomfortable, and I regretted shooting down his compliment. He didn't know why hearing it drove me into instant irritation. Sans told me I was pretty, and then I turned around and did that? There were _so many_ people out there who would've died to hear Sans say that to them. But people can tell you you're pretty and make you feel like a goddess, then they turn around and-- Ugh, I didn't want to think about it. 

We sat in a deafeningly awkward silence. I felt like crying, but I held it in like always. Crying was fucking exhausting, and I didn't want to bother with it. I’d embarrassed myself enough for one day. 

I looked over Sans's shoulder at Frisk as they sighed, leaning their head on their hand. Flowey looked completely uninterested. I looked back at Sans as he took his hands away from his bow tie. It was completely turned vertical rather than horizontal. "Your bow ties not even." I mumbled.

"i don't _even_ care." He said with a wink. 

_Uh, not the wink, Sans, come on._ I couldn't handle it right after accepting it would never happen, and feeling so fucking pathetic in front of him. I gave him a small laugh, trying to hide it, but to no avail. We sat in awkward silence again. Sans cleared his throat. "we should get back to the party. you're the guest of honor, after all."

Sans started to get up from his chair when it suddenly hit me. _I never told him what Gaster had said_. I shot up, bumping the table so hard that the dishes on it clattered and pain shot through my thigh. "Son of a bitch!" I grumbled.

“you alright?” 

"Wait!" I breathed out, grabbing his jacket sleeve. 

"yeah?..." He said, a small curve forming the corner of his mouth like a smirk.

"I..." I paused, realizing Papyrus, Frisk and Flowey were still watching us. Sans watched me as my eyes fluttered around the room at our eavesdroppers, then focused back on him. "I need to tell you something, but I want to be alone... Could you maybe take us somewhere private?" 

"i've got just the place. gimme your hand. i know a shortcut."

Sans extended his hand and I quickly took it. The restaurant phased out, and Grillby's phased in. It was dark, and empty. The chairs had been placed on the tables, legs up in the air. Sans went to the bar and sat down as I got my bearings. He teleported so much faster than I could. Spatial magic wasn't really my specialty. "I guess Grillby had to close up so he could work the banquet, huh?"

"i'm always tellin' that guy he's workin' too hard." He looked over his shoulder at me as he unclipped his bow tie. "so, what'd you want to tell me?"

I sat down next to him at the bar. "I want to talk about what happened in the Void."

He raised a brow bone. "frisk told me what happened..."

"Yeah, but can Frisk read hands?" I bit my lip as Sans's expression hardened. 

"what did gaster say?"

"Well, he said a lot... it was really jumbled like before. I only made out one word, and... I thought about it to be sure, but--"

"what did he say, brandi?" Impatience filled his voice. 

"He... said the name 'Chara.' Right after that, Frisk and I were standing on the edge of the Core."

“chara?”

“Yeah… You know... _Chara?_ ”

“who the hell is chara?”

“Oh… So you _don’t_ know…” I realized in that moment that Sans and Chara never actually met in game. I don’t think anyone knew them except for the Dreemurs and probably Frisk. 

I got my bearings, not really sure how to explain this because, well… No one really knew what the deal with Chara was. “Chara was the first fallen human child. The one the Dreemurs adopted. They died a long time ago.”

“oh, was that their name?” Sans asked. “i heard the story when i was a baby bones.”

“Well, that’d be them.”

“so why’s gaster bringing them up to you?”

“So, in the game, Chara only appears if you do a true genocide run. Killing everyone and everything with no mercy.”

“yeah…?”

He had a suspicious look about him, but I kept on. “At the end of the game, they appear, saying Frisk’s determination is what brought them back from the dead. Now that the Underground is completely empty, Chara asks if you want to erase the world and move on to the next one to continue being the Adolf Hitler of video games.”

“you lost me.” Sans smiled.

“Continue being a genocidal maniac.” I explained. Guess there were no Nazis in this world. “Anyways, even if you choose to not erase the world, Chara kills Frisk and does it anyway. When you turn the game back on there’s nothing but a blank screen, and some howling wind.”

“so, what’s your point here?”

“My _point_ is that Chara is bad news, and Gaster was trying to tell me something about them.”

"was that all he said? just the name?"

I shrugged. "That's all I got. I can't read hands as fast as you.” I hesitated before continuing. “He told me that after he attacked me…”

Sans didn’t look the least bit surprised, which concerned me. “oh, yeah?”

“I mean… Doesn’t that bother you?”

Sans shrugged. “he was probably trying to keep frisk there, and i’ll bet chara has something to do with it. he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty to get what he wants.”

“You seem to know Gaster pretty well…” I hinted, hoping he’d tell me how. 

“you could say that.” Was all I got.

“Regardless, he tried to warn me about _something_. I don’t think this is really over yet. I think he knows something we don’t, and we need to keep our guard up.”

“you think this kid will cause us trouble?”

“There are quite a few people who believe Chara’s the one who manipulates Frisk into a genocide run. Then there are those who think it’s all up to the player. Whatever the case is, I don’t want to take any chances. Whether they control Frisk or not, they’re not a good kid. They’ll kill us all.”

"i won't stand by and let that happen again... i can't afford to not care anymore..." Sans rubbed his skull as he laid his head down on his arm. My hand was on his shoulder before I realized it. 

"I won't go home yet. I'll stay for a while. Just in case… I'll help you protect everyone." 

He kept smiling, but the bags under his eye sockets showed how tired, beaten, and broken he had been for the last year. This awful, horrible day was finally coming to a close for him. 

"yeah, that'd, uh... that'd be great, actually." He rubbed the back of his neck, the vertebrae clinking against his boney fingers. "and i hear you've got a place to stay."

"Yeah, I guess I do." I smiled, imagining how fun living with Toriel and Frisk would be. Then I wondered what kind of trouble I could get into with Flowey. Would he stay with us? Could I still hang out with Undyne, Alphys, Papyrus? Sans?

Maybe... if I stayed long enough, Sans and I could--

No. Bad idea. That'd only result in disappointment and heartache. He didn't deserve that. And even if he thought I was pretty, or powerful, or nice... that didn't matter because he told me _'we can't do this.'_

"Then it's settled." I said, trying to fight back damned tears again. "I'll stay with you guys until I know you're safe." 

When I told them the news, everyone couldn't be more delighted. The night ended in giant group hugs from not only the monsters I'd been close with since falling into the Underground, but monsters I had never even seen in the game. I laughed, my heart overflowing with affection. I hugged each and every person that came to me. They all loved me so much, even though they barely knew me. Asriel did say, “Monsters are so weird.”

Toriel and Frisk, of course, were elated. Frisk kept talking about all the things we could do together, and all the games we would play. They refused to let go of my hand. Toriel held onto my other as she told me all the things we could do together. She wanted to take Frisk and me bug hunting, bake with us, and tell jokes all night. 

"As long as you stay by Frisk's side and protect them, you don't have to worry about work or anything, Brandi! I'll take care of you both!" She told me. 

"Mom, I can't let you work for the three of us." I laughed with a smile.

"Nonsense! Frisk's safety is much more important!" She insisted. In the end, I went along with it, hoping I could convince her to let me help out later. At least I'd have free time to spend with everyone while I was there. 

Then, good Lord, there was Papyrus. I didn't think a decibel count higher than his normal register was possible until he shrieked with joy when I told him the news. 

"IT'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN!!! WE CAN TRAIN TO BE IN THE ROYAL GUARD TOGETHER, AND MAKE SPAGHETTI, AND YOU AND SANS CAN TELL EACH OTHER THOSE AWFUL PUNS, BUT ONLY IF I'M OUT OF EARSHOT!! DOESN'T THAT SOUND GREAT, HUMAN!?!?" His words became so jumbled after that I don't recall what all he said. I did hug him around the neck, and he picked me up, spinning me around. I laughed as I clung to his shoulders. Sans watched us from the side, chuckling to himself. 

Undyne declared that I'd be her new training buddy, which Papyrus found offensive since he didn't feel he needed to be replaced. Instead, he invited me into their group of 'cool dudes' to train with them. As the Great Papyrus, he allowed it. 

Alphys meekly asked if I would watch Mew Mew Kissy Cutie with her sometime. I agreed excitedly telling her how much I loved anime, and was always curious to see the show for myself. 

Flowey, of course, simply said, “Okay, great.” in a sarcastic tone when we told him the news. I took it as he meant, "Yay! I'm so happy!" 

Then, we spent our last night in the Underground. I crashed on Sans and Papyrus's couch with Frisk snuggled in one arm, and Flowey hanging onto the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love this chapter because this is where we truly leave the Undertale script, and go our own path!  
> The next chapter is mostly fluff, but don't worry, angst will be back soon to loaf on your couch and not pay rent, but you find it so attractive, you don't really mind.


	9. Surface Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a new part of the world comes new surprises. Going to meet the General of the surface kingdom brings an interesting perspective to how the world outside of Mt. Ebott and the Underground works. Now we just have to convince him to give monsters full rights. Meanwhile, we get a taste of pure hate, and Papyrus just can't seem to get his brother out of bed.

Things on the surface were what I expected them to be when the monsters first arrived. A lot of government involvement, confusion, overwhelming emotions, racism, hate, support, and finally _some_ peace. 

Frisk became the Human Ambassador for Monsters, of course, and I was asked by Asgore to be the Assistant to the Human Ambassador for Monsters. Naturally, I accepted, but really I acted more as a bodyguard. A profession I thought I’d never find myself in being only five foot two, and, well, a derp. Did people still use that word?

The monsters were forced to live in close quarters on the outskirts of town. Small clusters of houses lining around Mt. Ebott. They’d originally been built to act as rentable cabins for skiing on the mountain in the winter, but thanks to the dark legends of Mt. Ebott, tourists were weary, bombing the business, so the lodge closed up shop. 

We liked to think of it as our own little neighborhood to start off, Asgore regrettably naming it ‘Surface Home.’ But we knew what it _really_ was. A fine line they weren’t allowed to pass. Their new prison cell, the open view of the sky teasing them. 

Each house consisted of two bedrooms with four monsters to a house. Some of the smaller monsters were able to fit more into their homes. The larger ones usually counted for two. The humans were overwhelmed with how to properly organize us all together, so Undyne stood up and took charge. Asgore joined her, looking a bit nervous about the whole ordeal. 

Toriel, Frisk, Flowey and I managed to end up together in our two bedroom cabin. Sans, Papyrus, Alphys and Undyne ended up in another a few blocks over from us. 

I’d learned about segregation like everyone else, but to actually experience it… Nothing felt more degrading than being told we didn’t have the same rights as everyone else. Being humans didn’t cut Frisk and me any slack. Our association alone marked us as traitors to mankind. We were the ones who released them, after all. 

The government provided the monsters with money for the time being, each household getting the same amount, but it wasn't enough to survive on. The currency was different than what we had back on Earth, so even if I'd had my wallet with me, I wouldn't have been able to help them.

The only time we were allowed to leave our residence was when Asgore was called to meet with government officials. Asgore always asked Frisk and me to accompany him on behalf of humans who supported monster rights. They always picked us up in a limousine. At first, I thought Asgore’s status as a king at least made them obligated to give us a nice car. Only when I watched him climb in did I realize it was to fit his horns inside. 

Frisk sat right up against me, leaning their head on the side of my breast like a pillow. Asgore sat hunched downward, one hand holding a to-go tea, and the other placed firmly on his knee. Undyne sat stiffly in the limousine, her armor limiting her movements. Alphys sat next to her, taking deep breaths with her gazed fixed in the same spot. Being Captain of the Royal Guard, and the Royal Scientist, Asgore asked them to attend the meeting this time. He wanted to pull all the stops to show how the monsters were able to maintain a functional system, even while trapped.

That particular day, however, stood over all the others. The leader of the country, a man named Donovan Kingsbury, was in attendance that day. They called him ‘General,’ and at first, I thought he was a military leader. Until Asgore explained the politics of this world to me on the ride to the courthouse. 

“Long ago, a king _did_ rule over the land of Ibnardia.”

“And that’s where we are now, right?” I probed, feeling silly to not even know the name of the land. It was never mentioned in _Undertale_ , so I tried to cut myself some slack. 

Asgore gave me a patient nod. “Since our arrival back, it would seem that the kingdom fell due to some sort of fire. It killed the king and queen, and their child disappeared.” 

“That’s awful…” I said, putting an arm around Frisk. 

“Was it the king of the humans you fought against?” Undyne asked, a potential battle story perking her up. 

“Oh, no, that was King Clifford. Clifford’s son, King Jonathan, came into power over a decade after we were forced underground.” He paused to take a sip of his tea. “Once the royal family had died, and with no heir to take the throne, their general, a man called Titus, took over. It was then that the military aristocracy was born for this kingdom. The General selects who will succeed them, and then trains them in politics, war and leadership.”

“Ohhhhh…” I rolled, processing the new information into my memory. 

Asgore was delighted to finally meet this Donovan Kingsbury, though the confidence behind his words vanished as he predicted how the meeting would go. Asgore’s pessimism was hard to spot behind his quiet smile. This wasn’t Asgore’s first time fighting for their rights, only now he didn’t have Toriel by his side. 

When we arrived at the courthouse, the stairs were lined with people. Many of them hissed when we piled out of the limousine, the driver refusing to make eye contact as he opened the door for us. I felt discouraged, watching the crowd as Asgore emerged last, his horn getting stuck in the fabric of the roof. Undyne had to pull him free, and laughter at his expense ensued. I turned to tell them to shut up, when I noticed the other group nestled at the top of the staircase.

There were about ten or twelve people with signs and t-shirts supporting us. I’ll never forget those kind words as they waved, cheering us on like a football team. The man dressed up like a Halloween hippie who said, “Stay determined!” will never know how much that meant. 

We were escorted in by four men in black suits, all nearly identical except their skin tones and nostril sizes. They brought us straight to the courtroom, one of the men asking us to stand before the table staged above us and wait for the council’s arrival. 

Alphys had become a twiddling mess, twisting her dress and lab coat in her claws. Undyne, strong and confident as always, stood firmly in her armor, helmet tucked against her hip. Asgore stood in the middle of us, his billowing purple cape as regal as his posture.

Frisk and I stood in our new clothes Toriel forced us to wear to look presentable. I had on a black and floral maxi dress that was just a bit too long without heels and a denim jacket. Frisk wore a pair of overalls over their classic striped sweater. Frisk reached up, grabbing my hand, as the council came in, seating themselves at the table. 

We'd only been on the surface for a month, and so far, things were not looking good for monsterkind. Donovan peered down at us, his face a bit handsome for an older guy. He had a jawline for days, and piercing blue eyes. I’d take him over Trump for that alone. 

Well. Depending on his response. 

A man on the end stood up, the obvious disgust in his face all too readable. He looked across the row of monsters before him, stopping as he landed on Frisk and myself. We locked eyes, and the contempt he held shot through my soul like gunfire. He finally opened his mouth. “Now presenting… General Donovan Kingsbury.”

“King Asgore.” Donovan smiled. “You haven’t aged a day. You look just as you did in those old paintings.”

Asgore’s eyes glazed over for just a moment before he held up his paw, “Please, call me Asgore. Formality is not necessary.” 

Donovan looked up, his face firm for a fraction of a second. Then he smiled. “Very well. Then you may call me Donovan.”

Bully for Asgore and his friendly, goofball demeanor. “Very well.” Asgore grinned back, big and dopey. 

“So.” Donovan dropped his papers, clasping his hands together, “Why don’t we begin with you telling us a bit about your history since your captivity?”

“Yes, of course.” Asgore coughed, stumbling just a bit. He started by telling them about how the monsters first settled in the Ruins, naming it Home. Once they began to outgrow the decrepit city, the monsters moved further into the caverns. They, of course, found themselves in the chilly land of what they now call Snowdin first. 

“Many of our more… _furry_ monsters settled there. A nice and comfortable place for them, I might say. Snowdin was voted the friendliest town in the Underground for nearly a century.” Asgore chuckled, but the councilmen did not seem amused. 

Next, Asgore brought up the founding of Waterfall, the main source of transportation through the Underground. The river person had apparently been in charge of the transforming boat since their captivity began. Who knew they were that old? I’d never crossed paths with them while Underground. I couldn’t help but wonder what they were up to. 

Of course, after Waterfall came Hotland. The molten heat helped the fire elementals to thrive, and of course, this is when Asgore brought up the Core. The power source for the entire Underground. Donovan seemed thoroughly impressed that they managed this. How could he not be?

“And how does that _work_?” Donovan mused, tilting his head just a bit. 

Asgore looked back at Alphys. “Dr. Alphys, would you care to explain?”

“O-oh!” Alphys jumped in her skin. “Uh--Um, uh, well, you see, th--the Core actually, um, uh…” Her pounding heart made magic fizz off of her, the room filling with a low hum. The councilmen could feel it, but they surely didn’t know she caused it. 

Undyne cut in to save her. “It converts geothermal energy into electricity, and it sends power to the whole Underground. Right, Dr. Alphys?” 

“R--right.” Alphys breathed a sigh of relief, looking up at her girlfriend as a silent ‘thank you.’ 

“That’s fascinating…” Donovan grinned, the feeling of winning him over growing with each word we spoke. “So, this is something the kingdom could utilize… This could be rebuilt, yes?”

“W-well, uh, I suppose it c--c--could be done, but, um, the Core was v-very unstable. The materials used we-were scraps collected f-from the trash fallen from the surface. W-with the right materials, uh, it _could_ be done, y--yes, but the blueprints have b-been lost since its creation.” Alphys choked out, never looking into Donovan’s intense eyes. 

“Did you lead this project, Dr. Alphys? To build this Core?”

“Yes. She did.” Asgore cut in so quickly Alphys had no time to react. I skimmed across everyone’s faces. Alphys tried to remain calm, but I saw the side glance she gave Undyne. 

Finally, Asgore came to a close with the founding of ‘New Home,’ and the building of the castle. 

After the death of his son, he then formed the Royal Guard. He then appointed Gerson, the turtle shopkeeper from Waterfall, as Captain of the Royal Guard at the time.

“Now…” Donovan paused, poking his paper with his pen. “As I see it, Gerson is retired.” He looked at Undyne. “ _You_ are currently the leader, correct?”

Undyne straightened her posture, but her demeanor never waned. This guy didn’t phase her one bit. “Undyne, Captain of the Royal Guard, General.”

“Nice to make your acquaintance.” He smiled. “I am thrilled to speak with you, being General of this great kingdom, I hoped we’d be able to speak about what you went through in the Underground to form a proper military, but I’m afraid that will have to wait another day.”

“Yes, General.” She nodded, her rigid stance and confidence interminable.

“Now, Asgore tells me you’ve been the captain for quite some time now.”

“I’d say the best five years of my life!”

“What would you say your specialty is?”

Undyne scoffed, “Training dorks to fight.”

Donovan chortled. “Dorks?”

“I’m hard on my soldiers, but it makes them strong. It makes their passion to be in the Royal Guard burn brighter than the sun! For years we trained, our blood, sweat and tears driving us to fight for what we wanted. Our freedom!”

Oh, Undyne and her monologues. 

Donovan looked at Asgore. “I see you picked the right person for the job.”

“He trained me well.” Undyne beamed at Asgore. 

Asgore nodded. “Though our bodies differ in genetic make up, our hearts are no different than yours. As Undyne said, true freedom and equality is all we seek. No more. No less.”

“You say that, and here you stand with this armor wearing bodyguard!” One of the councilmen scoffed. “She looks ready to kill us all!”

I watched Undyne as every muscle in her body twitched, along with her ever sharpening smile. It made her ten times more terrifying. “I’m not a bodyguard.” She hissed. 

“Yes, well…” Asgore coughed as always when he fumbled. “As I said previously, I found it necessary to maintain a guard in case of human attacks.”

“Human attacks?” Another man laughed. “You were trapped Underground! You couldn’t possibly have expected anyone to go down there after you!”

“I, uh--”

“Are you chastising them for protecting themselves?” I spoke up for the first time before I could stop myself. “Keeping themselves prepared?”

“How dare you even speak!” The glaring man on the end slammed his fist down on the table. Geez, what was _his_ deal? 

“Fullman, please, control yourself.” Donovan said calmly, his eyes never leaving us. 

Frisk gripped my hand harder as they declared, “We went there for them! It just wasn’t to harm them! Right, big sis?!”

Ooh, was that a good reason? It made more sense than telling them I came from another world. I nodded to not look suspicious before timidly replying, “Frisk is right. We wanted to help them.” 

“Do you make a habit of galavanting after legends on a dangerous mountain?” Donovan raised a brow. “I’ve heard tales of Mt. Ebott, and the disappearances that occur there.”

“Well…” I began. “I always wanted to see them for myself, so I just… I thought I would.”

“You didn’t think it dangerous to take a child with you?” 

I hesitated. I had _not_ expected to be questioned about this, and Frisk and I never discussed what happened to them before they fell into Mt. Ebott. 

“It was more dangerous to leave them alone.” I said, my voice shaking. Donovan seemed pleased with that answer. Or he just smiled a lot. He looked down at his papers, shuffling them before he calmly said, “I see here that you’re a mage.”

I blinked. Had Asgore told them? “I am.”

“So… how did you manage it? Bringing down the barrier?”

It was all I could do to keep from physically shaking. I realized at that moment Asgore had completely omitted the human souls. Not to mention I could really admit that I’d pulled Frisk from the Void, and that just kind of fixed the timeline. It sounded stupid and farfetched, even if it was true. How the hell did I explain this? 

“We did it together.” Frisk’s small voice pulled everyone’s gaze from me to them. 

“You both brought down the barrier?”

“Yeah! With Flowey!” Frisk bounced on their heels, and I nearly fell to the floor from shock. 

“Flowey?” Donovan looked flabbergasted at the name alone. 

“Don’t believe this _devil_ child.” The man Donovan called Fullman spoke up again. “They’re obviously lying.”

The incoherent chatters of the other councilmen began to coagulate, stagnating the air with doubt.

“They are not necessarily lying.” Asgore cut into the noise, taking a deep breath. “Though we monsters were not present when the barrier fell, we do know that it was broken as it should be. Through soul power.”

“Oh!” Donovan perked up at that. “So, you used human souls?”

Asgore nodded. “Over the decades we were trapped, we had a few lost souls who found themselves underground.”

“The Mt. Ebott Disappearances.” Donovan nodded firmly, shuffling through papers before finding the one he needed. “Reports of dozens of humans vanishing, their last wearabouts near that mountain…” He paused, his eyes now an icy, cold blue. “Six of them were children…”

Deadly silence permeated around Asgore. He finally admitted, “The six children did perish Underground. By my hand.”

“Murderer!” Fullman screamed, pointing at Asgore. “You lured those children down there with your magic only to take their souls!” 

“Bullshit!” Undyne screamed, the heel of her armor sending a crack through the tiled floor. “There’s no way for us to lure anyone down there!” 

“That’s right!” Frisk added. “We went down there on our own! No one lured us there!” 

“That does not give him the right--”

“Like humans had the right to trap monsters Underground in the first place!?” I snapped back before Donovan could even finish his sentence. “The six human souls were there because Asgore collected them to free his people, so Frisk, Flowey and I used them to do just that! What Asgore did was wrong, yes, and I believe he _should_ be punished for that--”

“What are you saying!?” Undyne cut in.

“Undyne, he did it to free monsterkind, I know, but he also did it as an act of revenge…” I locked eyes with Asgore. “I’m sorry, Asgore, but…” 

He shook his head. “No, you are right. I not only deserve retribution, but seek it.” He turned his attention back to Donovan. “Do what you will with me, but please, don’t suppress my people due to my actions. I’m willing to accept whatever punishment you deem worthy… Regardless of your decision for or against monster equality.”

Donovan tapped his finger in a perfectly even tempo, his gaze fixed on seemingly nothing. The councilmen around him stared intently, holes burning on every side of him. 

“Please…” Frisk stepped up. “If Asgore really wanted to, he could have killed me when I met him in the throne room. He could’ve taken my soul, absorbed all seven, and broken the barrier himself, but instead, he spared me. He cried because he missed his family after losing them, and offered to let me stay at the castle with him. He said he’d take care of me, and decided he’d rather leave his people trapped than murder another child…” 

Tears whelped in the corners of Frisk’s eyes, and they opened them. Big, brown irises stared back at Donovan’s. “Asgore’s not a bad man… He just made some bad decisions to free his people. He’s just a big softy, and I think he’s been through enough!” 

Frisk let go of my hand, running to Asgore, only tall enough to embrace his leg. They wrapped their arms around his thigh, sobbing into it. 

“That’s enough, young Frisk. I hear your pleas.” Donovan said, standing up. “I’d like a moment to think this over, and discuss what we’ve heard today with the council.”

Jesus, were they going to make us fester even more before making a final decision? The five of us stayed perfectly still until the councilmen all followed Donovan out of the room. 

A solid five seconds of silence passed, slow and sluggish like a fat caterpillar. Undyne broke it when she produced an energy spear, growling as she reared back to chunk it into the wall. 

“Undyne.” Asgore said firmly, the fatherly tone the only thing stopping her from destroying the room. She released the spear, the magic dissolving, before she locked her wrath on Asgore, pointing. “You!”

He blinked.

“How could you give yourself up like that!? Why did you admit you killed those humans!?”

“I don’t expect you to understand…” Asgore sighed. “They knew what it took to bring down the barrier. And as you heard, General Kingsbury did his research. If I had not confessed, it would only make us look untrustworthy.”

Undyne opened her mouth to object, but scoffed, turning away from him. She crossed her arms, biting her lower lip. She looked like an angry kid. It would’ve been cute if under different circumstances. 

“I expect they’ll give me some form of punishment.” Asgore confirmed. “I am the one who ultimately admitted to my crime. It is time I paid the price.” 

Two hours passed, the insestant ticking of the clock an overwhelmingly subtle reminder that we were their prisoners as long as they wanted us there. I’d sat down against the wall, Frisk joining me only to fall asleep against my arm. I stared at the tiled floor, the heathered texture a rough terrain almost like a canyon, gliding my finger up and down the ridges. 

Alphys sat down in one of the provided chairs, Undyne standing next to her. It must’ve been hard for her to sit in her armor. Not that she minded. She looked content being near Alphys, and close enough to Asgore. 

Asgore hadn’t moved from the spot he’d stood in since the meeting began. Maybe I should’ve called it a trial. We were in a courthouse, after all. I think we all felt guilty to some extent for one reason or another.

What were we going to do if the monsters were denied? It wasn’t like I had any experience in politics, or any knowledge of what happened to them once they reached the surface to give any advice. I knew the game through and through, but that was it. 

“A-Asgore…” Alphys chirped. He looked over his shoulder, still unmoving. “Wh-What you sa-said… About the Core…”

“I know.” Asgore turned away. “I have faith that you will build an even better one that the previous one.”

“But I-I did-didn’t build--”

“Not now, Alphys. Another day.”

Alphys opened her mouth to protest, but instead sank further into her chair as she began twiddling her claws again. Undyne placed a quiet hand on her shoulder. 

Frisk stirred awake when the door clicked open. Two of the men in black looking fellows stepped out first, followed by one of the councilmen. He’d spoken up a few times during the meeting, but I never caught his name. The wrinkles in his pale skin and ghostly blue eyes made him look undead. 

The two men walked up to Frisk and me. The pale man said, “We’d like to follow up with some questions with just you two, if that’s alright.” 

_Like we had a choice?_

Frisk and I exchanged looks before silently following the men in black back to the councilmen. He closed the door behind us, leading us down the brightly stained wooden halls and into separate rooms. 

“Big sis!” Frisk called out as one of the men pulled them into the first room. I noticed Fullman waiting inside. 

“Hey, can’t we stay together?” I asked politely. 

“We think it better if we keep you apart for this.” He nodded like I had already agreed with him. “I’d like you to join me in this room, Miss Dreemur.”

“Miss Dreemur?” 

“From Asgore’s files on you, he claims you’re staying under the care of his ex-wife. You and Frisk. She’s to adopt the two of you, correct?” 

“Well…” I hesitated, only hearing this for the first time. “It’s something we’ve talked about, if it’s possible.”

“Isn’t that nice?” He said in a sarcastic tone. 

I raised a brow at that, following him in. Once the door closed, we sat across from one another at a small table. Whether they’d intended it or not, it had the same feel as an interrogation room from a movie. A crappy looking lamp sat on the corner of the table placed directly in the center of the room. One of the men in black followed us in, a gun holstered to his hip.

“Umm, why does he have that?” I asked. “That wasn’t there before.”

The man held up a hand, “It’s purely for safety, we don’t plan on using it if you don’t plan on using your magic.”

“Why would I attack you?” I smiled.

“Fullman insists you will.” He crossed his arms. 

Wow, this Fullman guy was a real piece of work. What an asshole. I let it go.

“I’m sorry, I never caught your name… What was it?”

He raised a brow before letting out a quick _hah!_ “As much time as we’ve spent together, I thought you’d know it by now. My name is Dr. Valentine. You may address me as such.”

I had to actually call him Dr. Valentine? Honestly, it kind of sounded like a porno name, but maybe that’s what he liked about it?

My wandering thoughts ceased as he unfolded his arms, resting them in his lap. “So, going after monsters because you’ve always wanted to see them…” His condescending tone hissed out. “We expected some sort of retaliation thanks to your previous actions, but we certainly weren’t expecting _this_ ricochet.”

I blinked, trying to not look condescending myself. I don’t think that word meant what he thought it meant. Was this guy _really_ a doctor? _Wait, I hadn’t accidently walked into a porn set, had I?!_ I tried to repress a giggle, knowing how ridiculous I sounded. 

Dr. Valentine continued, “Something funny?”

I quickly shook my head. 

“Because you broke the law, you know.”

I halted so fast my joints tightened, the ligaments straining to hold my skeleton together. “I… I did?”

“Yes, and depending on your word choice, you could end up in jail for very, very long time for your actions.”

“Oh… Okay…” I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, Dr. Valentine’s face unchanging. He was watching, observing me and my responses to his words. I really didn’t want to be psych evaluated. He leaned in closely. “Are the monsters holding you captive?”

My nerves tingled, my expression souring. “What? No!” 

“So, they’re not forcing you and Frisk to lie for them?”

“Why would we have stayed with them this whole time otherwise?”

“If you’re being held captive and vouching for them against your will, now is the time to tell us.”

“That is the complete polar opposite of the actual situation.” I pursed my lips, crossing my arms. Now I kind of felt like attacking him, my magic itching to conjugate itself into the form of a weapon of any kind. 

“Is it?”

“You’re kidding me with this, right?” I laughed. “The monsters aren’t forcing us to do anything. We fell down there, met them, fell in love with them, and set them free. Now all we want is for them to be able to walk freely amongst us. Do what they want. Work where they want! Fall in love with who they want! Learn about the surface world that’s been above them their whole lives. The majority of the monsters who left the Underground have never seen the surface. They deserve to live out their lives like humans, don’t you think?”

“Why should they?”

“I literally just told you why they should....” 

His face twisted in disgust. “Did you say fall in love with who they want?”

I thought back, realizing I had. Vomiting words had always been my natural talent, especially when I was nervous. But it didn’t change the fact that it was how I truly felt. I gave a firm nod. “Yeah… Yeah, I did.”

“Suggesting that monsters be in relationships with humans?”

I shrugged. “If that’s what they want, and both parties feel the same way. It’s not hurting anyone.”

His lip curled up, his brow furrowed. “How disgusting.”

That stabbed deeply. I knew it wasn’t normal. I knew how obscure it sounded to someone like Dr. Valentine. But I couldn’t help but think about how much I would still care for Sans if he were human. Why should it matter if he was a monster? 

“It’s fine if you don’t feel the same way. But I think they deserve it as much as you or I.”

“I doubt it, seeing as how General Kingsbury will--”

Furniture being flung, clattering against the opposite wall from us made me jump up, bolting for the door. I used the doorknob as I slammed the door behind me, swinging myself to the next room as quickly as I could without tripping in my maxi dress. I knocked the door open, sending it flying into the wall with my elbow. Frisk was on the floor, cowering with their back against the wall as Fullman hastily pulled the gun from the other man in black. The table had been turned sideways, Fullman’s chair leaning against the dent it made in the wall. The lamp had fallen, casting massive, jolting shadows like a horrific puppet show. 

We locked eyes as he turned. “You!” He cried, pointing the gun at me. 

He fired it, the shot ringing out in a flash of light. It moved so fast I had no time to requip, and it hit my body, covering me head to toe. I gasped, gagging as I fell back onto the floor. The crappily tiled ceiling paralleled me as I tried to breath. 

I tried to requip, to ready something to defend myself with. I stretched my hand out, begging for any of my arsenal to produce. 

But nothing came.

My magic was gone. Whatever Fullman fired at me, it sucked the magic right out of me like a draining spell. I felt it spilling out of me like a tipped over glass of water. The absence of magic power left me weak, like back on Tenrou Island a year ago. When my magic depleted with just one requip. When I had to rely on others to save me. 

Now Frisk needed me to save them. I _had_ to get up.

“F-Frisk!” I called out, sliding my hand up the wall to, trying to grasp it. The clomping of rushing feet around me clattered in my eardrums, my brain scrambling. My dizzy vision made me topple as I used the wall to stand up. What the hell had he shot me with!?

The disembodied voices of other council members filled the old, musty hallway. I inhaled sharply, realizing Dr. Valentine’s hand wrapped around my forearm, attempting to help me stand up.  
“What is going on back here!?” Undyne’s voice rang down heroically like the pillar of justice she was. 

“Undyne!” Asgore called out. I clung to Dr. Valentine’s sleeve, trying my best to stay on my feet. Frisk scrambled out of the room, running to me and clinging onto my dress, pointing at Fullman. “He shot sis!” 

“WHAT!?” Undyne screamed, the sound of her armor echoing over the chatter. I looked inside the room, the two men in black holding Fullman back from trying his damndest to shoot me again. 

“Undyne, stop!” Asgore bellowed, as Undyne passed us, heading straight for the door. She raised her hand, an energy spear appearing in her palm only to disperses at another gunshot. 

Everyone froze. Their gazes turning towards the source. Donovan stood at the end of the hall, his gun pointed at the ceiling. His fierce eye contact made me shudder, the hole he caused in the ceiling smoking like the barrel of his gun. 

“Now that I’ve got everyone’s attention…” he began cooley, “What the hell is going on here?”

“Fullman used the Null Gun on Miss Dreemur!” Dr. Valentine gritted through his teeth. 

Donovan stepped closer to us, examining the scene inside the interrogation room. Dr. Valentine continued, “I believe he was trying to use it on the child as well, General. The noise sent her flying for her younger sibling. He shot her when she rounded the corner.”

The obvious signs of a struggle, plus the men in black holding Fullman captive convinced him enough. He looked at me with the most empathetic expression another human had given me in that universe, his words hugging my soul. “I’m so sorry for this, miss. Please, allow me to fix it.” 

I couldn’t respond. Only faintly smile at his kind words. “Take her somewhere to rest. Examine her, and make sure she’ll be fine, Dr. Valentine.”

“Yes, General.”

“You two. Follow me, and bring Fullman with you. Asgore, I’d like you to come as well.” 

“As you wish.” Asgore said. 

Dr. Valentine took me into another room, he and Undyne helping me along the way. They helped me down on the couch, my eyelids barely able to keep themselves open. Undyne kept apologizing for getting angry at me, only for me to meekly reply that it was alright.

Alphys and Frisk found us as Dr. Valentine inspected my body. They both cried when they first saw me, but he couldn’t find anything wrong. Other than the drainage of magic power, and the burn from where the shot actually hit below my left breast, I came out unscathed. He said the burn would heal after about two weeks. As for my magic, he predicted it would come back on its own over time.

“Consult your personal physician if your magic persists in remaining absent, but I’m sure you mages have your own concoctions for things of this sort.” 

Asgore came in with Donovan shortly after Dr. Valentine left to report my condition. Donovan informed us that Fullman no longer worked for the council, and would be serving time in jail for his attempted assault on Frisk, and his actual assault on me. 

Then, he said, “Also, I’ve decided to begin passing laws for all monster kind to have full rights.” He paused as the four of us whooped, cheering, clapping and laughing. The smile he held faded, however. 

We all silenced, noticing the look on their faces. Donovan spared us the suspense. “Asgore, too, will be serving time in prison for the murder of the six children who fell Underground.”

“What?” Undyne’s entire being sank, her fins drooping. 

“I’m sorry, Undyne…” Asgore gave a melancholy smile. 

“But… Who’s going to lead the monsters if you’re in prison?!” 

“That’s something for you and the others to discuss. I supposed Toriel could, if she wanted…Knowing her, she’ll refuse.” He placed a hand on her shoulder. “However, if you’re willing, Undyne… You could lead them in my place.”

She blinked. “What? Me?!” 

“You’re a natural leader, Undyne. You have a better grasp on this kingdom than I.” 

“I… I know I’m a good leader, dammit, you trained me…” She looked down at the floor. 

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I don’t really care about that… I mean, I do care about the kingdom, I just…” She trailed off, losing her words. Undyne marched forward, hugging Asgore. He returned it, petting her ponytail.  
________________________________________________________________________

Sans rolled over, the blankets kicked off and matted at the foot of the bed. He squinted at the sunlight spilling through the blinds, attempting to cover his eye sockets with his arm. It didn’t work.

He looked over at Papyrus’s bed. The sheets and comforter were made to perfection, the pillows fluffed. He’d probably gotten up hours ago. He wondered why he hadn’t tried getting him up yet. 

Wait. It was that day, wasn’t it? Papyrus must’ve been planted in front of the television, watching the live footage. Sans still couldn’t believe the humans let them keep the televisions in the cottages. The local news was all they could pick up with the antenna, but the humans never minded being petty before. 

Sans normally would get up and watch it with him, even though it was nothing more than watching the doors to the courthouse. He did it to appease Papyrus more than anything. Support his friends and whatnot. 

But Sans wasn’t feeling very supportive. He wasn’t really feeling anything. 

“SANS!!” Papyrus’s voice made him jump. “THEY’RE ALL COMING OUT OF THE COURTHOUSE!! GET UP, OR YOU’LL MISS IT!!” 

Sans watched the door. He didn’t respond. The mere thought of resonating his voice into a coherent sentence proved too much. He heard Papyrus lean against the door. 

“EVERYONE IS WALKING OUT… THE PEOPLE OUTSIDE ARE BOOING THEM, BUT… IT SAYS MONSTER RIGHTS HAVE BEEN APPROVED…”

Sans mouthed with him, “ASGORE’S NOT COMING OUT… I WONDER WHERE HE IS? MAYBE HE’S DISCUSSING MORE MATTERS WITH GENERAL KINGSBURY…” 

A long pause stretched before the door clicked open. Sans closed his eyes, hoping Papyrus would just think he was still asleep. 

“SANS?...” Papyrus whispered carefully. “C’MON, YOU’RE GOING TO MISS IT…”

The somber tone of Papyrus’s voice made him feel guilty. He tried his best to hide it from his brother. To show him he was fine. But sometimes he just couldn’t. And everytime Papyrus still tried his best to comfort him, in his own way. Even if it was just calling him out for being lazy. It was nice to have someone care enough to acknowledge it. Even if it was the farthest thing from the truth. 

“GET UP, YOU LAZY BONES!” 

Sans yelped as Papyrus used his magic to lift him up from the bed by his soul. He flipped upside down, his shirt falling over his face and obstructing his vision. He pulled it up, putting on his best carefree smile. “sup, pap?”

“SANS, DON’T YOU KNOW WHAT DAY IT IS!?” He sighed. “IT’S THE DAY OF THE TRIAL!! EVERYONE’S ALREADY COMING OUT! YOU MISSED THE LIVE STREAM FOOTAGE!!” 

“oh.” Sans tried to sound ignorant. 

“OH!?” 

“oh?” He grinned. 

“OH!!” 

“Ohhhhh.” Sans threw up his finger guns only for his shirt to fall back over his face. 

“OH, FORGET IT!” Papyrus released him, dropping him on the bed. Sans repressed a giggle as Papyrus crossed his arms. “THIS ISN’T FUNNY, SANS! YOU’VE DONE NOTHING BUT LAY IN BED SINCE WE GOT TO THE SURFACE! AREN’T YOU GOING TO COME OUT AND ENJOY THE SUN? THE FRESH AIR?”

Sans’s heart sank with each word. “uh... yeah, maybe another day--”

“ARE YOU NOT FEELING WELL??” Papyrus sat on the bed next to him. “IF YOU’RE SICK, JUST TELL ME! I CAN MAKE YOU SOMETHING TO HELP WHATEVER AILMENT AILS YOU!” 

“yeah, i guess you could say i’ve been feeling under the weather.”

“WHAT’S THE MATTER??”

“i just…”

“Thank you, everyone.” The television stepped in, both of their attention turning towards the door. “Yes, you heard it correctly. I have decided to begin honoring monster rights. The change, of course, will not be immediate. There are laws, and other rules we must first establish before we willingly allow them into society.”

Papyrus grabbed Sans’s shoulder, turning his attention back to him. “THE BROADCAST CAN WAIT… TALK TO ME, SANS…”

Being given an opportunity to get out of it, Sans shook his head, standing up. “nah, this is important. let’s go see what this big shot has to say, huh?”

“ARE YOU FEELING WELL ENOUGH TO GET OUT OF BED?”

Sans grabbed his blue hoodie, sliding it on. “i’ll feel bad no matter where i am. just trust i’ll be alright. i’m an expert at sitting on the couch.”

“UGH, NO DENYING THAT.” Papyrus stood, crossing his arms. He hesitated as Sans chuckled before leaving the room. But Sans noticed the look in his eye. He’d slipped up, and now Papyrus was worried. 

Sans’s phone began to buzz in his pocket. He already knew who it was. He flipped it open. “hey, tori.” 

“I’m sure you’ve heard the good news!” Toriel’s sing song tone made him smile just a bit. 

“yup. looks like they pulled it off, huh?”

“I am surprised that Asgore isn’t out there. Do you think they’re already driving everyone back?” 

“dunno. could be.”

“We should all get together and celebrate!” She hesitated. “We haven’t seen you since we reached the surface. Are you going to _surface_ yourself anytime soon?” She suppressed a giggle. 

Sans faked a laugh. Not her best effort, but he appreciated the sentiment. “guess i’ll _rise_ for the occasion.”

“Oh, you can do better than that-- Hey! Get out of the freezer, young man!” 

“I’m starving!! Where’s the freakin’ ice cream around here!” Petal’s screamed in the background. 

“I’m making dinner! No ice cream until afterwards!” 

“SANS!! ARE YOU COMING, OR NOT!?”

“comin’, pap.” He mumbled. “we’ll get back to ya’ after alphys and undyne make it back.”

“Alright! Talk to you soon-- Ah, hey!! What did I say!?” 

Sans hung up the phone, sliding it back in its rightful place with the empty ketchup packets. He exhaled through his nasal cavity before he shuffled back to his bed, sliding on his slippers. 

“welp. here goes nothin’.”  
________________________________________________________________________

Toriel was surprisingly calm, yet troubled when we told her the news about Asgore. I didn’t really press her for the details. She knew he deserved it just as much as anyone else who murdered six children. But for your husband to end up in jail like that… It must’ve hurt. She ended up canceling the celebratory dinner she’d already started cooking. 

It didn’t hit anyone as hard as it hit Undyne. It killed her to watch them take him away. But, Undyne was undoubtedly strong in her spirit and mind, not just in her muscles. She stayed determined, not wanting to look weak in front of the other monsters. 

Toriel rejected the idea of taking over the kingdom again. She felt she’d given up her right to it the moment she left Asgore. So, Undyne took it in her place until Asgore would return. His trial wouldn’t be for another few months at best. We wouldn’t know anything for a while. 

But Donovan kept his word, and monster rights slowly began passing in the meantime. Monsters were allowed to roam free wherever they pleased, but they weren't allowed to work. It didn't take long for Papyrus and Undyne to go stir crazy. Undyne’s new duties as the temporary queen of monsters kept her busy enough, but her constant need for testing herself physically kept her unsatisfied.

Being the only adult human in Surface Home, I felt responsible in making sure Toriel, Frisk, Flowey and I had enough money for us to survive. I got a job, behind Toriel’s back, at a restaurant for the time being. A burger joint called 'Rollers' complete with cute fifties style dresses as uniforms, and roller blades. Those were optional, so I didn't use them. I fell on my ass enough as is. 

Toriel objected, of course, but I told her there was no way I'd let her take care of Frisk and me alone. We wouldn't be able to survive. My friends visited me at work a few times, but they couldn't _really_ afford to go out to eat. That, and a lot of the customers and employees would scowl at them the second they stepped through the threshold. And I’ll never forget Starey Gary. 

Thomas Fullman, yes, the man Donovan fired from the council, who I promptly renamed Starey Gary, was a regular at this particular burger joint. He always sat at the bar. He came in almost every night and ordered a chicken fried steak dinner, and a glass of beer called Finnigan's.

Nothing about him seemed unordinary, really, other than his blatant monster racism he cracked to his buddies. I saw him there on my first shift, though he didn’t notice me right away. A boisterous laugh bellowed from him and all his buddies as they cracked drunken jokes to one another. At least, at first...

I'd gone up to the bar to pick up a drink. I'd heard this song on the radio. I had no idea what the name was, but I kept singing the chorus. _"They did descend upon their unlucky descendants~ And reigned down gifts for the unworthy. Their repentance remained unlikely as their doom kept unfurling~"_

The laughter stopped, like someone had cut off a loud television. I glanced up to find Fullman and his posse all staring at me. But not in a "Hey, that girl is hot!" kind of way. More like deers in headlights. I returned their stare briefly before I awkwardly turned away, taking the drink back to my table. I knew why Fullman stared, surely he remembered me from the meeting that day, after shooting me with that magic zapping gun, causing him to get fired and all, but I’d never seen his friends before. Maybe they didn't like my singing?

Fullman came in alone after that night. Not once did his amigos return with him. I didn't think much of it at first until I noticed every night he came in he JUST. KEPT. STARING.

After two weeks, I’d had enough. I walked up to him at the bar. The closer I grew, the wider his eyes grew. I crossed my arms, trying to look intimidating in my work dress. "Do you really have the right to stare at me like I’m a weirdo? I mean, seeing as how you’re the one who shot me that day, if I recall, with your stupid magic zapping gun."

He continued to only stare at me. Returning it with a glare, I noticed a deep scar on his right cheek. His black hair was peppered with gray, matching his goatee. He’d been too far away, or too busy shooting me for me to notice until then. Since he apparently lacked any manners, I spoke up again. "I quite frankly don't like being stared at, so let's just--"

"You and I both know you shouldn't be here..."

I blinked, so perplexed at his statement that I literally couldn't speak. I hesitated, "How could you possibly know that?" 

"Why are you doing this to me?!"

I paused again. "Sorry?"

"You and that _thing_ that goes to school with my son..."

 _Thing?_ My anger started swelling up, and my magic began swirling inside me. "What do you mean by _thing_?"

"You know _exactly_ what I'm talking about!" He slammed his hand down, his plate clattering. 

"I don't know what the fuck your deal is, but you'd better shut up before I--"

I stopped when I saw Toriel step up to the hostess stand. I'd forgotten she was coming to bring me my lunch. I had left it at home.

I stepped past Fullman, smiling at Toriel to hide my anxiety. I didn't want her to know anything was wrong, or she'd frantically worry every day I went to work. She returned my smile at first, only to look past me as I reached her.

"Who's that man at the bar?"

"Just some regular. No big deal." I quickly changed the subject. "Thanks for bringing my lunch!" 

"It's no problem, dear. But do be more careful! I swear, you'd forget your head if it wasn't attached to you!" 

"Ha! You're probably right..."

Loud footsteps echoed closer to us. I looked over my shoulder to find Fullman power walking past me. Then, he 'accidentally' bumped into Toriel, causing her to drop my lunch. The food spilled out onto the floor. I requipped into my Satan's Son armor and pinned him against the wall. His eyes bulged in terror as I drew my sword, pressing my arm into his throat as blue flames enveloped me. People in the restaurant were screaming. Toriel cried out, "My child, wait!" 

"Touch my mother again. I dare you." I growled. Every fiber of my being boiled with anger. Fullman cowered behind my blade. Toriel placed her paws on my shoulders and gave them a firm, motherly squeeze as she said, "Please, don't hurt this man! Spare him!" 

_Spare him._ That was all it took. Everything _Undertale_ had ever taught me came flying back to my soul as my magic power swirled around us, dying down slowly. I let out a slow, shaky breath before I stepped back from him. He slid down the wall to the floor, his eyes wide and full of tears. I reverted, then grabbed Toriel's paw from my shoulder. 

"Just know that you're only alive because of _her._ Now let's get out of this racist shit hole." I spat, ripping my hair out of the ponytail I had it in. 

The deadly silent taxi ride home gave me a fit of anxiety. Toriel didn't say a word. The second we got home she scolded me. She understood I did it for her, and that I had been trained to fight, but it was no way to win over the humans. "Although, your tomboy-ish manner is what makes you so charming, and I must say, you remind me of myself when I was your age..." I smiled at that. "However, you must learn to control yourself, my child. We need the humans to trust us." 

"I know, mom, you're right." I sighed. 

“I am surprised more than anything. This really isn't like you… you usually never lose control of your temper like that.”

“I know…” I paused. “There was something about that guy… He stirred something up in me. Looking at him just made me feel so _angry_. I don't know what came over me.” I shook my head. "Maybe it’s because _he shot me_.”

“Yes, and General Kingsbury had him fired for it. Two wrongs don’t make a right.”

“Regardless, he was _way_ out of line. I just... I can't stand seeing people be hateful to the monsters. You're all my family..." 

With that, Toriel wrapped her arms around me. She held me and cried on my shoulder in the kitchen for almost an hour. 

After Frisk had gotten home that night, Toriel informed me that I would no longer be working. Frisk's face lit up. 

"I want your only priority to be taking care of Frisk, and spending as much time with us as you can. You already have enough to worry about, my child." Toriel said firmly. 

"Mom, you can't take care of us with just--"

Toriel stood up from the table quickly and I shut my mouth. I may have been an adult, but I didn't want to show her disrespect by talking back. I looked up at her, prepared for another scolding when she sighed. 

"I'm going to take care of the two of you now. No matter how old you are, or responsible you may feel to take care of me, _I'm_ going to take care of _you_. Monsters will be able to work soon. Just please, stay patient... After all, I'd feel more comfortable if you watched over Frisk with your free time. Especially with people like that man in this world." 

Toriel's eyes had glossed over, but she blinked, hiding her tears. I felt awful. I was only trying to help, but instead, I made her feel worse. I hadn't had anyone take care of me since I'd moved out on my own. "Okay." I said simply. "I'll watch over Frisk. I promise."

But really. What could possibly go wrong?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OH. MY GOD.  
> I thought this chapter would never be finished. Jesus Christ. 
> 
> First, I'd like to address the name of the kingdom. Ibnardia. WTF does that mean? Well, after researching where Toby got the name 'Ebott,' I found that it's literally just his freaking name backwards. So, I kind of went with the same thing, since I'm the author of the fic. (Yes, Brandi is my real name. Surprise!) Cleverly stupid, right? Yeah. We love our good ol' doggo, Toby. 
> 
> Writing this chapter was challenging, and I'm sorry for the delay. The holidays really took up a lot of my time, so writing was scarce the last few months. But I'm back, baby!
> 
> While the chapter was challenging, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Writing about the history of a world you've never heard of is always a daunting, yet rewarding task. I feel like I could spend more time polishing this chapter up, but, honestly, I'm just ready to share it with you guys. 
> 
> If you're confused about anything, don't hesitate to comment and ask me questions. I want to make sure everyone understands what's going on. lol


	10. Story Update (Not an actual chapter.)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The future of this fic...

It’s pretty clear that I’ve stopped working on this fic. Honestly, I’m probably going to delete this fic. (At least until I finish the first one in the series.)

I wrote this story two(ish?) years ago when my world was crumbling around me. It was something that I needed. Something that kept me going, even if it was just a fantasy. 

I may come back to this because I _did_ complete 99% of this story save for a few edits I never finished. The writing is not great, and maybe, in the future, I’ll go back and fix it, but... 

I probably won’t.

Not without completely re-writing the beginning.

To anybody that subscribed, I really appreciate it, and hope you enjoyed it at least a little. 

In the meantime, I have another Undertale fic I’m actively working on titled Despacito. I’d love it if you checked it out! 

Again, thanks to the few who stuck with me. I really appreciate you!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, guys! I'll be making a tumblr page for this when I have the time. There you'll be able to find art for the fic I've made, plus sketches of my requips, and more! Also, feel free to ask me questions. Everything in these fics was kind of inspired by what's going on in my life while I'm writing them, and I'd love to talk about it with you guys. :)


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